Wizards and Warlocks
by Aranel-o-Aduial
Summary: Merlin has a new task: protect Harry Potter. And if that means going back to Hogwarts, then so be it.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Yay! I finally started this! I had great fun writing it, so I hope you have great fun reading it.**

**Anyway, the basic idea of this one is Merlin is immortal, and he protects Harry through his years at Hogwarts. If you see any mistakes, please inform me, and refrain from being a smart aleck.**

**There's not going to be that long introduction that some immortal Merlin stories have, explaining what he did through the years, as I will be basically explaining the major stuff as I go. Also, my theory is that being immortal wouldn't change Merlin's attitude too much, especially if he were disguised as a kid, so he's going to be pretty much the same. Constructive criticism is welcome, and, though I enjoy the explanations of the balance of the Old Religion, I'm not going to do that, as I don't really understand it very well. I figure that Merlin protecting Harry wouldn't upset the balance too much, would it?**

**Anyway, this will follow the plot of the books, with the addition of Merlin, and, therefore, there will be many examples of me using text from the books. If you don't like that, then I'm sorry, but I'm not a better writer than J.K. Rowling, and, frankly, if I was left to do some parts of the dialogue myself, important parts would be skipped over and characters would be saying things that make no sense. **

**I'm going to say this once: I do not own any of the text, (or plot points, for that matter,) that you recognize from the books. I'll have a disclaimer at every chapter, but, just saying this now, I don't own a lot of the dialogue in this story, so I'm not going to take credit.**

**This chapter is super long, by the way. It's much longer than any other chapters in my stories, and the rest of the chapters are looking to be similar, so, sadly, I will not be posting every day like I usually do. I'll try every week, and I'll try to warn you if there'll be a pause in the uploads.**

**Anyway, hope that long author's note didn't put you off too much, (I'll try to keep the length shorter in the future,) and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or the ****_Harry Potter_**** series.**

Merlin was enjoying a nice cup of tea when he felt it.

It was a nice feeling, the feeling of destiny awakening. The disturbance in the air coupled with his restless magic on Samhain, leading to the warlock standing up in shock and ramming his legs against the table at which he sat, his tea falling to the ground and spilling. He gaped, opening and closing his mouth much like a fish, as he took in the meaning of the feeling and the small amount of peace that came with it.

Voldemort was defeated.

Sure, Merlin could tell that he wasn't completely dead, but he smiled as he realized that the world would finally be at peace from him for a while. Of course, there was a downside. James and Lily Potter had died in protecting their son, Harry.

Harry.

Now _there_ was the problem. The problem was that Harry had a destiny, and he was likely not to know about it until much farther into his life, and the problem was that Harry was now touched by evil in a way Voldemort couldn't have possibly meant. Merlin decided right then and there that Harry would need watching, and if that meant going to Hogwarts again, then so be it.

...

It was thoughts of this event that ran through Merlin's mind as he walked through Diagon Alley ten years later, carrying his shrunken school supplies. Sometimes he was glad that he could perform wandless magic, as he had yet to get a wand. He had long since broken his last one, and, as he did not like the unpleasant feeling of sending his magic through a tube, he had yet to buy a new one. He pushed open the door to Ollivander's, his magic resonating with the significantly weaker magic of the collection of wands. Ollivander looked up from a customer as he walked in, and Merlin was surprised to see that said customer was Harry Potter himself, who currently had a great pile of wands stacked up next to him. It was to be expected, really, after the dark magic that had touched Harry. Merlin knew that most wands repelled the magic.

"Ah, another customer. Sit down over there- I'll be with you in a minute," Ollivander said, and Merlin did as he said, watching as Ollivander shuffled off to get another wand. Merlin looked at Harry.

"Having trouble?" he asked, looking at the pile of wands next to the wizard. Harry nodded, apparently surprised that he was being talked to. He opened his mouth to comment, but was stopped as Ollivander shuffled back with another wand, handing it to Harry, then quickly ripping it from the boy's grasp with a pleased look on his face. Harry turned to Merlin again.

"Sorry about this," he said, and Merlin shook his head.

"Not a problem. Not your fault that those wands don't like you," Merlin said, and the giant man next to Harry let out a chuckle, surprising Merlin, who hadn't noticed him before. Though, after becoming aware of his presence, Merlin had no clue how.

"'at's true," the giant barked, "Awfully picky, those wands. Don't know 'ow 'ey could refuse 'Arry Potter."

Harry blushed and Merlin looked at him, "So, you're Harry Potter, then?" he asked, and at Harry's shy nod, said, "Nice to meet the person behind it all. My name's Marlin Emrys."

Harry looked at him and smiled, relaxing when he realized that Merlin wasn't going to make a fuss over his name. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted once again as Ollivander walked in with yet another wand. He actually let Harry wave it this time before whipping it from his hands and muttering under his breath. Merlin smiled at the old man's retreating figure, something about him reminding the boy of Gaius. Harry turned to Merlin again.

"If you don't mind me asking," Harry said, "Why not a bigger reaction?" he asked, and Merlin chuckled.

"I was raised by muggles. Don't really know much about the wizarding world besides my father's journals," he lied, reciting the story he had fabricated beforehand, "He died at work shortly after Voldemort's-" Merlin ignored the gasp from Hagrid, "-defeat, so there were a couple mentions of you."

Harry eyed Hagrid curiously as Merlin spoke, but then turned to Merlin with a question in his eyes. "What did he do?" he asked, and Merlin smiled.

"He worked with dragons," Merlin explained, and the conversation was stopped as Ollivander came back.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere- I wonder now- yes, why not- unusual combination- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple," he handed the wand to Harry, and Harry waved it with a peculiar look on his face, the giant man whooping as sparks came out of the end. Ollivander cried out, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..."

The wand maker replaced Harry's wand in its box and wrapped it, constantly muttering "curious," until Harry said, "Sorry, but _what's_ curious?"

Ollivander stared at Harry and said, "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- why, its brother gave you that scar," Harry swallowed as Ollivander continued, "Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. ...I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things- terrible, yes, but great."

Harry shivered and paid Ollivander his money, opening his mouth to say goodbye to 'Marlin,' but stopping as he saw Ollivander had already started measuring the boy. Marlin gave him a nod, as if to say 'see you at school,' and Harry just nodded back and left with Hagrid.

"Hold out your arm... Good, now, every Ollivander wand..."

...

Merlin ended up with an english oak wand with a core of dragon heartstring, (something he couldn't help his flinch at,) which Ollivander described as "surprisingly swishy," though Merlin couldn't really tell. He left Diagon Alley, ignoring the stares that he got from various people as a kid walking alone. He didn't worry- he could protect himself.

Except maybe from the evil aura of the man escorting him.

Merlin didn't know why, but something was _seriously _off about Professor Quirrell, and Merlin planned to find out what. Every time he was within fifteen feet of the man, he felt nauseated by the evil that seemed to come from him. That, and the smell of garlic.

Merlin was just glad that he was well versed in magic- he didn't want Quirrell to be sniffing around his business, and seeing that a ten-year-old lived alone would have definitely told the professor that there was something off about 'Marlin.' Fortunately, Merlin had managed to cast a spell on his neighbor's cat, which he 'borrowed' for the weekend, to make it look like his mother. Of course, Merlin still answered the door and did all the talking, but his mother was at least there to sit in the backround, and Merlin had cast a spell so that she spoke at all the right moments. Of course, Quirrell was too busy stuttering to notice that her expression never changed.

"T-time to go, then?" Quirrell said quickly and Merlin nodded, attempting to lose the nervous professor in the crowd as he headed back towards his house, noticing uneasily how the professor eyed his shrunken school supplies.

"Another wizard helped me," he explained, and that was enough to set Quirrell off his trail.

...

Merlin walked through the train, looking into various compartments in search of an empty one. He finally found one, and sat down.

A few minutes later, he heard a knock on the compartment door and looked up to see Harry Potter glancing inside uneasily, a couple of twins with red hair looking in and grinning as they talked to harry. Merlin nodded, and Harry said his farewells to the twins, stepping inside nervously and sitting down.

"Hey," Merlin said, grinning widely, and Harry seemed to relax a bit. "You excited?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, and there was an uncomfortable silence. Merlin had just opened his mouth to ask how Harry was when there was a knock on the compartment door and a redhead opened it without waiting for permission.

"Anyone sitting here?" he asked, gesturing to one of the seats, "Everyone else is full."

Merlin sincerely doubted that every compartment was full, but he and Harry nodded. The redhead sighed in relief and stepped inside the compartment. There was an uneasy silence, before the redhead blurted out:

"So, who are you, then?" he asked, gesturing to Merlin and Harry. Merlin offered his hand.

"Marlin Emrys," he said, and Ron ignored his hand, instead blurting out:

"Are you really Harry Potter?" to the other boy. Merlin frowned and pulled back his hand. Hadn't this boy heard of manners? He figured that he was just shocked to meet the man behind the legends.

'Funny,' Merlin thought. 'If this kid knew who I was, he'd have a different tone.'

Merlin tuned out the conversation, pulling out one of his books from his relatively small trunk and starting to read as he realized that they would probably not want him involved in the conversation, as it was about Harry. His eyes flashed as he unshrunk the book, and he had just opened it up to read, when-

"Whoa! What did you do?" the redhead had said, eyeing Merlin with wide eyes. Merlin frowned as he realized that he should have used his wand for that. He struggled to think up an explanation.

"It's accidental magic," he eventually explained, "I guess I must've just thought that I didn't want to read a book so small and the spell wore off."

"But how'd you get the enchantment on it in the first place?" the redhead, who Merlin realized had yet to intoduce himself, asked, and Merlin shrugged.

"A wizard in Diagon Alley helped me when he saw how much I was struggling to carry the books and shrunk them," he explained.

He nodded, and Merlin opened his book, about to start reading again when the redhead interrupted him again.

"What about you, then?" he asked, and Merlin looked up from his book.

"...Sorry?" he asked, and Ron frowned.

"Is your family wizards?" he asked, and Merlin frowned, too. Blood status wasn't really supposed to be a way to get to know somebody, but, he supposed Harry was wondering after being raised by muggles. He sighed.

"I'm a half blood," he explained, "My wizarding parent died, though, so I was raised by muggles."

The redhead nodded, and Harry seemed interested. "You said he worked with dragons?" he asked, and Merlin nodded.

"Yeah, died in his line of work," Merlin said, and then thought for a moment. He realized that he didn't have any explanation to how he died, so he decided to say; "He died protecting me," and leave it at that.

Unfortunately, the nameless redhead didn't seem to have any notion of manners.

"How'd that happen?"

Merlin frowned, "He worked with dragons," he explained, and decided to go ad lib until the redhead stopped looking at him like that, "One got loose while I was nearby, and he just managed to stop the dragon from hurting me, but was seriously burned in the process. He died before we could get him any help."

The redhead nodded, and, seeming to realize that Merlin didn't have any idea who he was, said, "I'm Ron Weasley, by the way," blushing a bit. Merlin smiled, but the expression was wiped from his face as Ron said, "And, you are?"

"Marlin Emrys," Merlin introduced himself again, not bothering to stick his hand out this time. There was an awkward silence, and Merlin noticed a rat chewing at the chair. Merlin didn't remember anything saying that rats were allowed at Hogwarts. Harry looked at the rat and Ron's pink ears, and launched into some long explanation about how 'there's nothing wrong with being poor,' and Ron seemed to cheer up. Merlin didn't bother opening his book again, as he figured that he'd be interrupted again as soon as he opened it.

Then Harry said Voldemort, and Ron flipped.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" he said, sounding impressed, and Merlin frowned. Harry launched into a nervous explanation of him not being brave or anything.

"I bet... I bet I'm the worst in the class," he said, and Merlin sat up.

"Yeah, right, just because you don't know not to say Voldemort's name?" he heard yet another gasp and said, "Look, what's the point in being afraid of saying the name of a dead man? It's not like he's going to come back and haunt you, in fact, I've only had one bad experience with ghosts. It's not like the king of rock is going to come and haunt me if I say Elvis Presley, is it?"

Ron looked confused and surprised at the same time, "_Who?_"

Merlin sighed as Harry looked at Ron, surprised.

"You really don't know who Elvis is?" he said, and Ron shook his head.

They were quiet for a while, staring out the window as Merlin finally decided to open his book. Suddenly, the door to their compartment was opened, and a woman pulling a cart laden with candy stuck her head in and asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Merlin put his book down and stood up as Harry leapt to his feet, both heading out to look as Ron muttered something about sandwiches. Merlin picked a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and a package of Chocolate Frogs, paying the lady and thanking her, and a few minutes later Harry came back in with two of everything, obviously thinking of Ron. Merlin frowned at the waste of money. He had enough to pay for all that, of course- living a thousand years does that to your money, but he wasn't about to waste it all on candy. Merlin sighed and popped another bean in his mouth, gagging as he tasted it. Ron and Harry looked at him, confused.

"Rat flavor," he explained, thinking, 'Arthur would go crazy if he saw this.'

Ron raised an eyebrow, pulling Scabbers closer to him.

"And how exactly do you know what rat tastes like?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Just like to thank you for the feedback! I'm having a little trouble with the third chapter, so it may not be up as fast as this one was. Thought you ought to know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Harry Potter_**** or ****_Merlin._**

"They're not _really_ frogs, are they?" Harry asked, and Merlin shook his head as he popped yet another bean in his mouth. He didn't know why he tortured himself- it tasted exactly like Gaius' hangover remedy.

"No," Ron said, "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

Ron started to explain to Harry what Chocolate Frogs were, and after a liver and tripe bean, Merlin decided that he would stop eating them and pulled out his Chocolate Frog, shoving the chocolate in his mouth before it could jump away and looking at the card. He laughed out loud, provoking strange looks from Ron and Harry. He'd gotten Merlin, and it was bringing back memories, seeing The Great Dragoon staring back at him. Dragoon left the card with an unpleasant expression on his face immediately after seeing Merlin.

"What is it?" Ron asked, trying to see Merlin's card. Merlin handed him the card, and he raised an eyebrow, handing it over to Harry so he could look at it.

"What's so funny about Merlin?" Harry asked, confused as he read over the card.

'Oh if only you knew...' Merlin thought.

"_Merlin Emrys?"_ Harry asked as he finished reading, gaping, and Merlin frowned. He forgot that the card held that particular tidbit.

"Yeah," he eventually nodded, and Ron gaped.

"You're named after _Merlin?_" Ron asked, and Merlin nodded again.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"But did your parents change the last name?" Harry asked, and Merlin frowned. He certainly knew how to ask the right questions.

"No, that was our last name in the first place. I guess dad just decided that it was time somebody in the family was named after the wizard," he said, and Ron nodded, looking at his card. He frowned.

"No, I've got Morgana again," he said, and Merlin frowned as he showed Harry the card. That brought back memories. Harry handed Merlin back his card and Merlin shoook his head.

"Keep it," he said, "I've got my father's collection."

Harry nodded and stuffed the card away, Merlin opening another Chocolate Frog and smiling as he saw Salazar Slytherin on the card. He had always been Merlin's favorite founder, though he didn't agree with his decisions. He tucked the card away.

Harry had just opened his box of Bertie Bott's Beans, and Merlin called out a warning as he popped a maroon colored one in his mouth and made a face. Rotten tomatoes- it figures that Merlin should remember that one.

Eventually there was a knock on the compartment door and a sad looking boy looked in. Merlin looked up from his beans, which he thought he'd try his luck with again.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

They shook their heads, and the boy cried, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry reassured the boy, and Merlin nodded as the boy said:

"Yes. Well, if you see him," and left them.

"I don't know why he's so bothered," Ron said, and Merlin raised an eyebrow, "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

"Did the school syllabus say anything about rats, anyway?" Merlin asked, a little irritated with the boy's attitude, after Ron pulled out his wand to attempt to turn his rat yellow. Ron just blushed and muttered something before the compartment door opened again to reveal the same boy with a bushy haired girl already in her robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. Merlin frowned. They had just told them!

The girl seemed to perk up when she saw Ron's wand, "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then," she said, sitting down next to Merlin. Ron looked offended.

"Er- all right," he said, and Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Ron recited a poem about his rat, waving his wand. Nothing happened, a fact that Merlin was not in the least surprised about.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?"

"No," Merlin muttered as he popped another bean in his mouth and stopped as everybody turned to look at him. He resisted the urge to gag as he realized the bean was dirt flavoured. "What?"

"Well, you do it, if you're so clever," Ron said, and Merlin frowned, pulling out his wand. He didn't know any spells in latin to turn a rat yellow, but they didn't need to know that. It was against his better judgement, but he thought of a spell.

"A¡geolwan," he said, pointing his wand at the rat and his eyes flashing as he decided to just use the wand as an ornament.

Scabbers turned golden, and the group gaped. Merlin waved his wand and the rat reverted to his original color. The bushy haired girl was the first to snap out of it.

"Oh, that's rather nice, isn't it? I've tried a few spells myself, and they've all worked for me. Nobody in the family's got magic, so it was a nice surprise to get my letter. I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" she said rather quickly, and Merlin grinned as Ron's mouth opened wider and Harry exchanged a look with him. He extended his hand.

"Marlin Emrys," he said, and Hermione laughed as she took his hand.

"That's an awful pun. No, really, who are you?"

Merlin laughed, "No, really, that's my name," he said, and at her surprised look continued, "Mean parents, huh?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, definitely," she said, and then turned to the others, "And you?" she asked.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron mumbled.

"Harry Potter."

"Are you really? I know all about you, of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical HIstory _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"Am I?"

"Goodness, didn't you know. I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

And then she was gone, leaving Merlin to stare after her. He knew which house he was going to be in, as the Sorting Hat had sorted him many times before, and it definitely wasn't Gryffindor.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron said.

"Well, I'm sure I won't have to worry about her being in my house," Merlin said, a bit disappointed. He kind of liked her, even if she was a know-it-all. Harry and Ron looked at him.

"And how do you know that?" Ron asked, and Merlin shrugged, quickly thinking up a story.

"My father was a Slytherin. I figure I'm going to follow him," he said, and Ron laughed.

"You certainly don't act like a Slytherin. You're definitely not the 'dark wizard' type," Ron said, and Merlin frowned.

"And who says I have to be a dark wizard to be in Slytherin?" he asked, crossing his arms and attempting to look as 'Slytherin' as possible, a feat not easily accomplished with a ten-year-old body. It didn't work, apparently, as Ron laughed.

"Sorry, it's just that you look like more of a Hufflepuff to me," he said, and Merlin sighed. The hat's second opinion, in fact, was Hufflepuff.

"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" Harry asked Ron, obviously trying to change the subject. Merlin lowered his arms as Ron started to explain what his brothers did and lay back in the chair, grabbing another bean and quickly discarding it when he realized that it was vomit flavoured. He grabbed his book, starting to read again.

Then Ron started talking about the Gringotts robbery, and Merlin looked up from his book.

"...Someone tried to rob a high security vault."

"Really? What happened to them?"

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

There was a pause. Merlin had heard this news already, but didn't really think about it until now. What had the thief been after?

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked, and Merlin got back to his book. He didn't understand Quidditch- he found it even worse than the melee, as getting hit in the head with a bludger was far worse than a club, he assumed. He was surprised that it had such a low mortality rate.

Merlin was almost done with his chapter when the compartment door slid open again to reveal a pale kid with two boys next to him. Merlin saw a flicker of recognition on Harry's face, quickly replaced with irritation.

"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said, eyeing the two boys at the pale boy's side. The blonde seemed to realize his mistake.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," he said, and then straightened up a bit, "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Merlin bit back a 'Really, I thought it was prat,' and dug into his book, trying to ignore the glare that Draco was sending him, as though the boy thought he was much more interesting than the book and deserved Merlin's attention. He felt his eyes go off of him as Ron tried to disguise a laugh.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Merlin didn't like the kid's tone- Ron may be rude, but nobody deserves to be insulted like that. He looked up from his book and sent the boy a glare, one which was promptly ignored as Draco continued.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he held out his hand, and Merlin's glare intensified. He was glad when Harry didn't take the boy's hand.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said, and Draco went as red as was possible for him.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Merlin didn't stand up with Ron and Harry- he didn't think he'd give Malfoy the satisfaction. But if he pulled out his wand and started fingering it, who could blame him? Malfoy looked at him with a little bit of irritation.

"Say that again," Ron said.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Merlin.

"If you keep acting like a prat, maybe," Merlin said, looking at the bottom of his wand. It was just an added bonus if examining this part of his wand also meant that it was pointing at Malfoy. Draco reddened a bit more.

"Oh, finally feeling brave, are you?" he said, turning to Merlin, "And who do you think you are?"

Merlin resisted the urge to burst out laughing. If only he knew... "Oh, my name's Marlin Emrys, but I suppose you don't really care, do you?"

"Got that right," Malfoy said, then turned away, "Come on, let's not waste our time," he said, and turned to leave, shutting the compartment door behind him.

If Malfoy somehow managed to hit his behind on a sliding door, what could Merlin say? And, no, his eyes were not gold when it happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Okay, chapter three! Thanks for the feedback again, and I hope you enjoy! If you notice anything that's out-of-character or any errors, please tell me. I tried to keep everybody in character, but I may have failed in the aspect of Draco Malfoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or ****_Harry Potter._**

Merlin quickly changed into his robes after Hermione warned them, Ron rubbing frantically at the dirt on his nose. He sat down and looked at his book, quickly stuffing it away as he realized that he probably didn't have time to read. A voice suddenly rang through the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Merlin grinned as he saw how nervous Harry and Ron were. He himself had been through the sorting ceremony several times and knew it was nothing to be afraid of. The two boys shoved the rest of their candy in their pockets and Merlin followed them out into the corridor. The train stopped and Merlin pushed through the crowd to emerge on a small platform.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry? C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" the giant man that was with Harry at the wand shop shouted, and Merlin stumbled after him, walking down a narrow path. It was silent, and Merlin was left to his thoughts as he walked along the familiar path, having traversed it the several times that he attended Hogwarts.

"Yeh'll get your firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the giant man called out.

'Or fourth or fifth,' Merlin thought.

"Jus' round this bend here."

All the first years gasped in astonishment at the sight of Hogwarts, and Merlin joined in in an effort to look normal. Though Hogwarts was grand, it was nothing compared to the splendour of Camelot. Merlin gained a distant look as he thought of Camelot, but he was snapped back to the present as the giant called, "No more'n four to a boat!"

He shook his head to clear it and followed the first years to the boats at the lake's shore. Harry and Ron were followed into a boat by Neville and Hermionie, and, to Merlin's great dismay, he was forced into a boat with Malfoy. Harry looked apologetic and Draco annoyed.

"So," he said, crossing his arms, "the great Marlin decides to join us, eh?" Merlin stifled a snort at that, but Draco seemed to sense it, and his irritation increased. "It seems Potter was eager to get rid of you. Maybe even _he_ knows wizard scum when he sees it."

Merlin briefly wondered whether the dragon tongue would work on those named 'dragon.' Then he realized what a preposterous idea that was. He bit his tongue to keep him from uttering a curse that would likely get him expelled. Draco sneered.

"What, are you deaf as well as dumb?" he said, and Merlin stiffened. _That _brought back memories.

Draco misinterpreted his silence, "Seems I'm proven right," he said, and his cronies chuckled.

Merlin relaxed. It was a common phrase- he was jumping to dumb conclusions. Though it did bring back memories he'd rather not remember.

"Prat," he muttered, and turned to look at the castle, planning on ignoring Draco for the rest of the trip. The boy trashed that plan as soon as possible.

Draco laughed, "You really are an idiot, aren't you, _Mar_lin?"

Merlin stiffened a bit, attempting to banish the memories that threatened to resurface. Malfoy was pretty much _quoting_ Arthur, and he wasn't very pleased hearing those words come out of the blonde's mouth. Malfoy _was_ similar to Arthur, but he was _much _worse.

But, before he knew it, he'd fallen back into an old habit. He grinned.

"And you, _sire_, are a complete and total clotpole," he quipped, then realized what he said and gaped. Draco looked at him, a weird look on his face at the use of the formality. He shook his head, apparently deciding that it was because of his family name, and looked at Merlin like he was weird, which, Merlin figured, he probably was.

"_Clotpole?_" he asked, and his cronies chuckled again. Through Merlin's anger at himself, he thought that all the two were good for was probably just laughing at the right moments and looking intimidating, though this thought was quickly pushed aside.

"Yes," Merlin said, and Malfoy looked smug as though this had proven a point.

"Why, I've never heard that one. Can you define it for me?" he said in a mocking voice.

Merlin just grinned again, "In two words?"

"Sure," Draco said, though he looked a bit confused at this.

"Draco Malfoy."

The three in the boat looked mortally offended, and the rest of the trip was passed in silence. Merlin got out of the boat as fast as possible once they reached the shore.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

"Trevor!" Neville cried out, taking his toad from the giant happily. Merlin smiled- at least someone was happy with the current situation. He clambered after Hagrid, watching in amusement as Malfoy tried and failed to get farther away from Merlin. After a few protests from the people that he was pushing, and one person pushing back, the boy resigned to his place in the crowd with an unpleasant look on his face. Merlin smirked at him.

"Giving up, eh?"

"Shut up, _Mar_lin," Draco said, then got a weird look on his face. Merlin just shook his head, smiling as he allowed himself to remember for a moment.

Apparently, that moment was too long, because he got a faceful of Neville when the boy stopped. He muttered a halfhearted apology as he was snapped back to reality, and Draco sniggered. Merlin glared at him as the giant man rapped three times on a large door, which swung open immediately. A stern-looking woman stood there, and she raked the group of first-years with her eyes.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," McGonagall pulled the doors further out. She led them to an empty chamber, and the first years crowded together, though Draco didn't look pleased at being shoved closer to Merlin. Professor McGonagall started a welcome speech, which Merlin tuned out. He'd heard it all before. He looked at Malfoy, whom he was surprised to see looking at him as well, that weird look back on his face, though he looked away quickly once Merlin met his gaze. Merlin raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going through the blonde's head, but his thoughts were quickly cut off as McGonagall finished her speech and left the chamber. A few first years started whispering to each other, though it was mostly silent. Malfoy attempted to get away from Merlin again, but realized that he couldn't get any farther away without making a scene. He frowned, and Merlin smirked.

"What, am I such bad company?" he said, and Draco glared at him, but didn't say anything. The group merged into silence. Then several people screamed.

The ghosts floated into the chambers, having some conversation about Peeves, and then noticed the first years. The Bloody Baron's gaze wandered over to Merlin, and the warlock had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as his eyes bulged out. He hadn't known the Baron personally, but it was kind of hard to miss the same face popping up in your house every hundred years. The ghost stared at him, and Merlin glared at him, willing him to stop, as the first years surrounding him were looking at the Baron in terror. The Baron seemed to get the message and floated away as McGonagall reappeared.

"Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Now, form a line and follow me."

Merlin did as he was told, ending up at the front of the line behind Hermione, who had ended up at the front in her eagerness to be sorted. Malfoy finally managed to break away from the warlock, and he was a few people behind Merlin, though still in the front.

Most of the first years gaped as they took in the Great hall. Merlin had to admit- it _was_ amazing. He still thought that Camelot rivalled its splendour, but he figured that was just sentimentality. He looked up at the ceiling, taking in the stars, and Hermione whispered, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, a History_," to him, as if he didn't know it.

McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on the stool, and, after a moment of everybody waiting, it burst into song:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,

And I can cap them all."

Merlin had to stop himself from groaning at the pun.

"There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,"

Merlin never liked the sound of that.

"So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be"

Merlin quickly tuned out the rest of the song- he knew the summaries of the houses, and where he was going, so he patiently waited until the song was done and clapped with the rest of the group. Professor McGonagall then stepped forward with a long scroll.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!"

A girl stepped forward, and was quickly sorted into Hufflepuff, as was Bones, Susan. Merlin patiently waited. He looked at the first Slytherin, Millicent Bulstrode, and quickly decided that he didn't like the look of her. She looked ferocious.

"Looking for potential girlfriends, Emrys?" Malfoy sneered to him when he saw Merlin looking at her. Merlin stuck his tongue out at him as Professor McGonagall glared before she announced the next name.

Finally, "Emrys, Marlin!" was called, and there were a few sniggers from the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables, though probably for different reasons. Merlin blushed as he became painstakingly aware of his oversized ears as he walked up to the stool, putting the hat on.

"Smart aleck this time, eh, Merlin?"

The hat said once it was on his head, and Merlin grinned as it continued, _"Probably not the best of names if you're planning on keeping this disguise."_

"Hey, it's not like anybody's going to think that I'm

really_ Merlin just because my name's so close,"_ he thought, and then realized something, and was about to comment when the hat interrupted him.

"Don't bother; I can hear your thoughts, remember? And, no, I can't place you in Harry's house because, frankly, I haven't sorted him yet,"

Merlin's grin dropped, _"'Duh,' is right, Merlin. And, no, I'm not going to break the rules and place him in your house, so- HEY! Language, Merlin! Geez, you are a definite _SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted out the last word and Merlin forced out a grin as he headed towards his table. The Slytherins clapped, though the ones that had laughed before were looking a bit surprised. Ron Weasley looked more surprised than any of them.

Merlin sat next to a tall kid, who congratulated him with a smirk. Crabbe shuffled to sit next to him, looking at Millicent Bulstrode. The girl was glaring at him, and Merlin wondered what he had done to set her off. He decided not to ask, though, as he wasn't sure that Crabbe could speak besides inaudible grunts, and the boy looked grateful.

The Sorting Ceremony continued, and Merlin wasn't surprised when Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. He smiled across the room at her, and she smiled back and waved, though she looked a bit surprised. Apparently Merlin shouldn't have done that, as now several of the Slytherins were glaring at him.

Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin, as Merlin suspected, and he was shocked to see that the boy sat next to him. Malfoy glared at him as if daring him to say something, though he looked nervous. Merlin figured that he was intimidated by the older students, and decided to keep his mouth shut.

Harry was sorted into Gryffindor, though the hat took a long time, and Merlin waved at him. Harry waved back, though he was staring at Draco. Merlin figured he was probably confused as to why he was sitting next to him. The Slytherins intensified their glares at him, and Malfoy just stared.

"Why are you waving at _him?_" he asked, and Merlin frowned.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because he was actually _decent_ to me on the train?" Merlin retorted, crossing his arms.

"Well-"

"Shh!" one of the Slytherins called, as McGonagall was now glaring at them. They shut their mouths, and the Sorting continued.

Ron Weasley was put in Gryffindor, (Merlin didn't bother waving to him,) and eventually, after Blaise Zabini, the Sorting Hat was taken away, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Merlin gaped- he had heard of how odd the headmaster was, but even he didn't expect that.

"Thank you!"

Draco looked almost smug. "My father said that Dumbledore was off his rocker- seems he was right," he said to Crabbe, and, for once, Merlin agreed with him.

Food appeared before them, and derailed further thought. Merlin was even willing to admit that it looked better than the feasts at Camelot. He piled food onto his plate greedily, the rest of the Slytherins following suit. He was just biting into an apple he had managed to grab before Draco when the Bloody Baron swooped over the Slytherin table and came to rest before Merlin. He looked him in the eyes.

"So, Marlin Emrys, eh? I believe I knew your father," he said.

Merlin stared at him, swallowing his mouthful of apple as Draco said, "So you're the Bloody Baron, then? Where's the blood come from?"

Merlin looked at Draco, alarmed, shaking his head in warning. The Baron glared, and was about to make some scathing remark when Merlin said, "So, Baron, you knew my father?"

The Baron's glare shifted to Merlin, but quickly changed to one of curiosity when he realized who he was glaring at. "Ah, yes, what was it, Myron Emrys? Son of Melvin Emrys? Your family sure does have a thing with M's, doesn't it?"

Merlin laughed nervously, "Yeah, it's rather odd, isn't it?"

"Why, I wonder if the line goes back to Merlin Emrys?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face when he saw Merlin's stunned expression, "Though I heard he had no children."

Draco laughed, "Yeah, like this idiot's related to Merlin," he said, and the Baron turned a menacing glare at Malfoy. The boy didn't seem phased. "He doesn't even know how to hold his wand properly!"

Merlin's eyes flashed, and Draco spilled water on himself. The Baron turned his gaze to Merlin just in time to see the boy's glowing eyes, and he smirked as Merlin met his gaze.

"Well, it's a pleasure to see you in Slytherin," he said, and floated off along the table, looking awfully smug. Merlin glared after him as Draco attempted to get himself dry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Okay, sorry for uploading the last minute, but I really had no inspiration. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.**

"Ahem- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Merlin almost snorted- he knew he would be making several visits to that forest during his time here.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

Another rule Merlin would probably break.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house should contact Madam Hooch."

Not like Merlin cared.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Merlin silently resolved to investigate it as soon as possible.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" A ribbon came out of Dumbledore's wand and bent into the shape of words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!"

Merlin was pretty sure that this tradition wasn't implemented the last few times that he went to Hogwarts, as he would have remembered the great clamour that ensued. After a moment's shocked silence, Merlin realized that he probably should join in, as everybody save him was singing, (though most of the Slytherins looked pained,) and started singing to a song that he'd heard many times during the feasts at Camelot. He was somewhat glad for the clamour, as that meant that nobody could hear his horrible singing. He finished the song, and stared as he saw what he guessed were Ron's relatives singing a funeral march. He clapped halfheartedly when they finished.

"Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!"

Obviously, Merlin thought.

"And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

A prefect led the first years out of the Great Hall, Merlin keeping pace with the others, though he already knew the way. The group gathered closer together as they entered the chill of the dungeons. It warmed up considerably once they entered the common room.

Merlin had always thought that the common room was the opposite of Camelot's castle. Green, black, and silver were in every corner, and there were plush chairs and tables that made Merlin just want to sink into them. Green light filtered through the windows from the lake, making the shadows more pronounced and casting an eerie glow about the room. Merlin figured the only thing that reminded him of his lost home was the stone brick that the common room consisted of, though, instead of being cold and clammy like the setting might seem to make the room, it was strangely warm, though not very comforting.

The first years gaped, (and smirked,) as they took in their surroundings. Merlin figured that it probably seemed more homely to them than it would ever to him.

But, he figured, it would probably be as close as he ever got to home, now that Camelot was gone.

The prefect, whose name Merlin didn't care to remember, rambled on about the Slytherin house and what was expected of them and where there dormotories were, all of which Merlin tuned out. He had heard it all before- more times than he cared to admit. Eventually, they were sent to their dormotories, and Merlin discovered, to his dismay, that his bed was right next to Draco Malfoy's. Crabbe was on his left, but he didn't really care about that.

Draco seemed dismayed to be placed next to him, and Merlin huffed. Friends only in a time of need, huh? He grumbled to himself as he rummaged through his magically expanded trunk.

Draco, (and Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle, for that matter,) seemed to get over his self-pity when he saw Merlin rummaging through his trunk. If Merlin hadn't been so preoccupied sorting through his many books which had been jostled on the ride to Hogwarts to find his clothes, he would notice that the prospect of kicking the warlock into his oversized trunk, (as he was nearly falling in, himself,) briefly passed very obviously through the boy's mind. It was eliminated when Merlin finally waved his wand to organize his trunk, and Malfoy saw some of the ancient artifacts that lay within.

Merlin stood up with a cry of victory, grasping his pajamas, and quickly threw them onto his bed and slammed his trunk shut as he saw what Malfoy, (and the rest of the dorm,) was staring at, muttering about "Prats that can't keep their noses out of other people's business."

Unfortunately, Draco didn't seem to hear.

"Was that a _staff?_" Malfoy asked, confusion etched onto his face, as he clearly could not understand the prospect of _Marlin_ owning such a valuable artifact. Merlin just crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

"_No,_ it was a Sidhe's walking stick! _Stupid_ questions..."

Draco just ignored this, "And there was a _crown_ in there! And _chain mail!_ Where would somebody like _you_ get things like _that?"_

Merlin frowned, "Excuse me? _Somebody like me,_ you say? Why, silly me, I suppose since you're from a _pureblood_ family you deserve these heirlooms more than me! Why, I suppose I'll just give you my magic book, will that please your pratness? Or would you prefer the Sidhe staff, my _lord?"_ Merlin bowed low here, rising and glaring at Malfoy, who had a funny look on his face again. It was a mix between looking like he'd been slapped and looking constipated. Merlin wished he had a camera.

Malfoy eventually shook his head and headed towards his bed, mumbling, "I was just _curious,_" and rummaging through his own trunk while Merlin went to change, feeling sort of smug, with a bit of bitterness mixed in. It seemed Draco had inherited his _father's_ ideals, though Merlin wondered where he had gotten his loose tongue from. Merlin knew that his family wasn't on the list of respectable families, all of which he had probably been introduced to. For the umpteenth time of being sorted into Slytherin, Merlin wished he had changed his name to Longbottom.

Fortunately, his status of a half-blood had not gotten out yet, so he was not prone to the blood prejudices, but he knew it would eventually get out, and he would become an outcast in his own house.

Not like he wasn't already.

Not for the first time, Merlin wished he had bought a trunk with a secret compartment to put his keepsakes in, but he figured out a long time ago that when you're in a shared dorm, a secret compartment does not stay secret for long, especially when that dorm is full of Slytherins.

These thoughts ran through his head as Merlin eventually drifted off.

...To be awoken by a grunt of pain as somebody fell into his trunk.

Merlin sat up and held out his hand- a battle reflex that had not gone away with time as he hoped it would, only to lower it as he saw the situation in front of him.

His trunk was open, and a certain prat's rear end was sticking out of it as he scrambled to get himself upright, making several books fall down and waking up the rest of the dorm as a result.

"_Malfoy_!" Merlin shouted, causing Crabbe and Goyle to awake abruptly instead of gradually, as they were doing. How they managed this with the clamour Malfoy was making was beyond Merlin.

Draco eventually managed to sit upright, and looked at Merlin with a shocked, and a bit guilty look on his face, holding a crown.

...King Arthur's crown.

Merlin shot out of bed and heaved Draco out of his trunk, ripping the crown from the prat's hand and examining it to make sure there was no damage. After making sure the crown was safe, he glared at Draco.

Draco looked at Merlin, seemed to realize who he was feeling guilty because of, and straightened up, though he didn't seem to chase away the shock completely. He pointed at the crown.

"That crown," he started, "Where'd you get it?"

Merlin frowned, a little worried, "Wal Mart," he stated in an annoyed tone. Seeing Draco's confused look, he continued, "Who cares?"

Draco just brushed off the question, "I've seen that crown before," he continued. Merlin forced his face to take on a neutral look as he panicked inside. He didn't notice Draco's curious expression. "In the Arthurian Legends," he finished.

Merlin was sure he looked somewhat shocked as he attempted to look neutral. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stated.

Draco somehow didn't hear that statement. He looked at Merlin, "What the Bloody Baron was saying, about Merlin..." he started, and as Merlin realized that Draco was figuring it out, he didn't have to fight to keep his expression neutral anymore. He sighed, and Malfoy gasped.

"You _are_ his descendant!" he exclaimed, and the rest of the dorm sat up abruptly, obviously surprised. Merlin was just glad that Malfoy hadn't latched on to the truth. "But, how?" Malfoy continued.

Merlin frowned, "I'm sure I don't have to have _that_ conversation with you, Draco."

Draco stiffened, then made a face, "Oh, God, no, I meant, since you're obviously not a pureblood-"

"_What?_" Merlin asked. How did Draco manage to find that out?

Draco just rolled his eyes, "You said I was from a pureblood family, and acted like you weren't. Plus, all the pureblood families have a family tree, and I've never seen the name 'Emrys' on it, so you must've had a muggle parent somewhere-" he stopped, and seemed to be thinking hard, "But that doesn't make any sense, since Merlin's last name was Emrys, so you _would_ be on the tree, but you're not, so..." Malfoy seemed deep in thought.

Merlin sighed, thinking up an explanation, and then it came to him.

"It's obvious, Draco," Merlin stated, pinching the bridge of his nose in mock exasperation, "My family isn't related to yours. Not every wizard is related to the Malfoy's, you know."

Malfoy nodded, though he still looked a little confused. Merlin sighed.

"Go to bed, Draco. This can wait until morning."

Draco nodded, and got into bed, though he didn't fall asleep.

Neither did Merlin, because he noticed the enchantment that he had placed on the crown was gone. A pit settled in his stomach and he swallowed as he thought over the meaning of it's disappearance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: If you're wondering why I'm updating so darn early, just blame the fact that yesterday I wrote ****_five chapters._**** Yeah, unless I suddenly think that everything I wrote that day is crap, you don't have to worry about late updates for a while.**

**Anyway, I hope I'm not suddenly evil in your eyes for the decision that I made in this chapter, (and in the last, though this is ****_much_**** more obvious.) I also changed how thoughts are represented in this chapter, as they're now italicized for your convenience.**

**By the way, if anybody seems out of character at all, don't think I'll go all evil writer on you for pointing it out, so feel free to complain. I try to keep everybody in character, but this ****_is_**** my first venture into the Harry Potter fandom, so I'm trying my hardest to keep the characters from being OOC.**

**Anyway, enjoy! I hope...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Merlin.**

Draco Malfoy was thinking a very promising thought.

Marlin just happened to have a magically expanded trunk, and he was leaning in almost all the way, temptingly close to falling in. It would just take a little kick, and he would have his entertainment for the night.

_But you could be _friends_-_

_Shut up,_ Draco told his conscience. He didn't need _Mar_lin's friendship, he- what the heck?

Was that... a staff?

How the heck did _Marlin_ get a staff?

And there's other artifacts, too! Draco examined the objects in the trunk- some kind of goblet, which something inside Draco felt was _very_ important, chain mail, a ratty old book with strange runes on it, and... a crown?

What the hell was _Marlin_ doing with a crown?

And that crown... he'd seen it somewhere before. Some book that his father had forced him to read...

And it looked _ancient!_ He was sure it would have already rusted if not for the charms placed on it.

Plus, why the hell did he feel like it was _his?_ He never owned a crown! Maybe there's some enchantment...

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Marlin closing his trunk's lid, mumbling something about prat's noses and business.

"Was that a _staff?_" Draco asked, ignoring Marlin's grumbling. Marlin looked at him.

"_No,_" he stated, "it was a Sidhe's walking stick. _Stupid_ questions..."

_Sidhe? What's a..._ "And there was a _crown_ in there! And _chain mail_! Where would somebody like _you_ get things like _that?"_

Draco knew it was a mistake to say that as soon as it was out of his mouth.

"Excuse me? _Somebody like me,_ you say? Why, silly me, I suppose since you're from a _pureblood_ family you deserve these heirlooms more than me! Why, I suppose I'll just give you my magic book, will that please your pratness? Or would you prefer the Sidhe staff, my _lord?"_

Draco stepped back, feeling properly reprimanded, and getting that weird feeling of deja vu at being called 'your pratness' and 'my lord' that he'd been getting all night around Marlin. He suddenly felt guilty, and managed to mask it, having been trained to mask emotions from being in a high family. He walked back to his bed, stating, "I was just_ curious_," before looking for his pajamas. What was it about Marlin that was so _familiar?_

Something inside of him told him the crown held the answer, and he silently resolved to investigate it.

He lay awake, eyes closed and fighting off sleep, until he heard Marlin get into his bed and his breathing steady. He got up, careful not to wake any of his dorm members, though he noticed that Zabini was already awake. The boy seemed curious as to what was in Emrys' trunk, though, so he didn't stop him when he opened it and peered inside, picking up the crown.

And quickly falling into the trunk as he felt a wave of energy go from the crown to him.

_What the..._?

Images suddenly swamped him, and he felt nauseous as he started _remembering_ things, things that he wasn't supposed to _know_. He struggled to sit up so he could hold his head as the world whirled around him, and eventually the surge of memories stopped, and he sat up with a brief revelation and stared at _Merlin._

"_Malfoy!"_

Draco was thinking, hard, and he scrambled out of the trunk, trying to act normal as the world spun beneath him.

He was vaguely aware of the crown being pulled away from him. He managed to act somewhat normal, though his head still spun.

"That crown, where'd you get it?"

_Marlin is Merlin?_

"Wal Mart. Who cares?"

"I've seen that crown before, in the Arthurian Legends." Marlin said something, but Draco didn't hear. "What the Bloody Baron was saying, about Merlin..."

Draco suddenly had a thought. _Marlin is ten! Marlin isn't Merlin._

Merlin sighed, and Draco figured it out. "You _are_ his descendant!"

_Marlin is Merlin's... descendant? Merlin didn't have any children..._

"But how?"

_You don't know that he didn't have any children. Marlin can't be Merlin- Marlin is Merlin's descendant._

"I'm sure I don't have to have _that_ conversation with you, Draco."

Draco snapped back to reality after his decision. He made a face. "Oh, God, no, I meant, since you're obviously not a pureblood-"

"_What?"_

Draco rolled his eyes- obviously Merlin expected not to be subject to the blood prejudices until later in the year. _Some wit, for Merlin's descendant, especially since he practically told us._

"You said I was from a pureblood family, and acted like you weren't. Plus, all the pureblood families have a family tree and I've never seen the name 'Emrys' on it, so you must've had a muggle parent somewhere-" but, wait, Merlin's last name was Emrys! What? "-But that doesn't make any sense, since Merlin's last name was Emrys, so you _would _be on the tree, but you're not, so..." Malfoy was deep in thought.

Marlin sighed, and Malfoy suddenly felt stupid as the boy delivered his explanation.

"It's obvious, Draco. My family isn't related to yours. Not every wizard is related to the Malfoy's, you know."

Malfoy nodded- that made sense.

_But Marlin being Merlin himself also makes sense..._

Draco was confused, and Merlin just sighed again.

"Go to bed, Draco, this can wait until morning."

Draco did as he was told, but he didn't sleep, mulling over the problem in his head, and, by morning, he had reached a decision.

_Marlin isn't Merlin, Marlin is Merlin's descendant. The Emrys family is not related to the Malfoy's. Merlin must've had children, because how could Merlin live forever? There is only one answer:_

_Marlin isn't Merlin, and, no matter what that crown says, I am _not_ Arthur!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Ooh, aren't you lucky! I'm updating first thing again!**

**I'm still on a roll with the writing, as I am now finished up to chapter 12, and I've decided that I like what I wrote, so you don't have to worry about late updates.**

**Unfortunately, I still have homework. Oh well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.**

Merlin was hardly tired the next morning, but the same couldn't be said for Draco. The boy was dead on his feet, and kept on mumbling under his breath as though he couldn't keep his thoughts in his head.

This filled Merlin with dread, because Draco had obviously been exposed to the spell that he put on the crown, and, though it at first filled Merlin with excitement at finally finding the person who that spell would work on, it made him nervous that the transition hadn't been immediate.

He tried talking to Draco and making friendly conversation, but Draco seemed withdrawn and usually all he got for answers were grunts. He even tried banter, but that didn't seem to work, as Draco just got this strange look on his face and walked away or proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the class. He figured that Draco was going through some form of denial at the moment, and that it would be best to leave him alone. If it continued for too long, though, it was clear to Merlin that he was going to have to have a long chat with Draco.

It seemed the best thing to do now was wait it out, but the confused looks that Draco was sending him didn't help.

Merlin had little contact with the Gryffindors in his classes, as it seemed that the only classes that they had with Slytherin were transfiguration and potions. He tried talking to Harry as they left meals, but was often times stopped by Draco, who Harry and Ron avoided.

And, to add to that, Merlin found himself bored during class, (especially History of Magic- he'd seen it all before,) and, of course, getting the spell on the first try no matter how he messed up the wand movement or mispronounced it- his magic was just too strong. Oftentimes he would end up tutoring Draco the entire period, as, though the boy was awfully confused around him, he seemed to stick with him as only Arthur would do.

...

Draco was staring at him during dinner on Wednesday when Merlin finally snapped. He turned to glare at the boy.

"What?" he snapped, and as Draco's eyes widened and he turned his head to his food, he figured that that wasn't the best route to take.

"Nothing," Malfoy muttered in a way that was so _not_ Arthur, it made Merlin's insides hurt. The warlock shifted to look at the boy.

"No, Draco, it's not nothing, and I will feel loads better when I can put a reason to your staring," Merlin said, and Draco lowered his eyes, then sighed.

"It's just... you're Merlin...'s descendant," he said, and Merlin frowned as he raised an eyebrow. As much as he liked that slip-up that Draco just had, he wasn't glad of the fact that Draco had just said that outside of their dorm room.

"Am I?" Merlin asked, looking around to make sure nobody had heard. He was glad to see that they weren't overheard. "Listen, I can tell that's not it, so what's wrong?"

Malfoy sighed, "It's just... it's something I have to deal with on my own, okay? Just leave it."

Merlin snorted, "Like hell. You don't have to be the hero, Malfoy, not when you have friends," he stated, and Malfoy snorted.

"Yeah, friends who would think me crazy if I told them. Just stay out of it, _Mer_lin," he snapped, then seemed to catch himself and gaped, his mouth only dropping further as he saw Merlin's equal expression of shock. Then Merlin grinned and turned back to his food, the few doubts that he had of the spell finding the right person vanishing. Malfoy shook his head as he saw Merlin's grin.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, and Merlin's grin widened.

"Oh, nothing, _sire,_ just glad you're finally snapping out of it," Merlin said, and, if it was possible, Malfoy was even more shocked.

"What did you just call me?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Arthur?" Merlin quipped, and Draco gaped, realization dawning in his eyes, then quickly being snuffed out by doubts.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, though doubt laced his every word. Merlin's grin vanished, and he looked at Draco with pain in his eyes, then turned away when he saw the boy's determined expression- an expression that he saw on Arthur several times.

"Oh," he muttered, disappointed, and Draco huffed, standing up and storming out of the room. Blaise looked at Merlin after Draco left the hall.

"Marlin, what did you _say_ to him?"

...

Draco seemed to stay away from Merlin for the rest of that week, and Merlin found himself spending more time in the library, looking up reincarnation. Unfortunately, his search wasn't fertile, and, after being chased away from the restricted section by an angry librarian, he decided to give up.

Finally, there was Double Potions with the Gryffindors, and Merlin found himself sitting next to Hermione, who had plopped down next to him when she realized that Draco was avoiding him. Unfortunately, that left him sitting alone as Blaise decided that he preferred Draco's company to his. Hermione smiled at him.

"Figured you'd actually want a partner for this class," she said, and Merlin grinned.

"Thanks," he said, and Hermione looked a bit surprised, but waved it off.

"I figured we'd make a good team," she said, shrugging.

Just then, Snape walked- no, strutted into the room and started calling roll. He seemed to frown when he reached Merlin's name, as though it had insulted him, though he continued without pause until he reached Harry's name.

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new- _celebrity_," he sneered. Draco chuckled at this, and Merlin's insides twisted as he realized that the boy was back to the prat he started out as. He sighed and Hermione looked at him, confused. He waved off her curious look, and turned his attention to the teacher.

Snape finished calling roll and looked up at the class, and Merlin was surprised by how astoundingly _black_ his eyes were, completely devoid of warmth. He then started his speech.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

There was a silence, and Merlin almost rolled his eyes as he saw how eager Hermione was to get started. Then the silence was broken as Snape shouted, "Potter!"

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's hand was high in the air, while Harry simply said, "I don't know, sir." Snape sneered.

"Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

At this point, Malfoy was shaking with silent laughter. Merlin glared at him and he seemed to sober up.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter? What is the difference, Potter, between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

Merlin winced as a few people laughed. That wasn't a good idea.

"Sit down," he ordered Hermione, who promptly obeyed, looking somewhat dejected. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

Merlin quickly pulled out his quill and wrote down the facts, though he knew them already. He didn't want to get on the bad side of Snape, even if he did favor the Slytherins.

"And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter," Snape added, and Merlin frowned. He _definitely _didn't want to get on Snape's bad side.

The potions lesson continued, and Merlin and Hermione started out on the cure for boils, Snape barely picking on them as he criticized the rest of the class. When Merlin saw Neville putting the porcupine quills into a boiling cauldron, his eyes glowed gold and caused the quills to fly out of Neville's hand and stick in the ceiling before he melted his cauldron. Hermione raised her eyebrows and Snape shouted at Neville for sticking the quills into the ceiling.

"It's just as well- you were about to place them in a boiling cauldron when it specifically says not to." he then subtracted points from Gryffindor and supplied Neville with more porcupine quills.

The lesson continued with Merlin and Hermione still getting reprimanded a few times, during which Merlin was fighting the urge to snap at the potions teacher since he had brewed this potion more times than Snape would ever achieve, but held his tongue. Eventually the class ended and he walked out of the classroom with Hermione, who was looking significantly put out.

"Cheer up, Hermione, that prat's probably just frustrated a Gryffindor could do so well on a potion," he stated, and Hermione smiled a bit.

...

Merlin decided that he didn't like Professor Quirrell when he first met him, and now he had classes with him. Merlin decided that something must be up with the school if they put a stuttering dimwit with a fascination with garlic at the Defense against the Dark Arts post, not to mention the evil that resonated off of him.

It was these thoughts that led to Merlin glaring at the professor for most of the period, and, sadly, Blaise had noticed.

"Marlin, what is _wrong_ with you?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Okay, another chapter! I suppose I should thank you all for the feedback that I've gotten, even if it has declined a bit.**

**In other news, I am up to chapter 18 in writing, so I'll be doing my best to get the chapter up earlier than this next time. I've just been super busy lately.**

**Anyway, this is kind of a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it!**

**Edit:**** Okay, I've decided, since this and the next chapter are so darn short, I'm combining them. The next chapter, that is, the chapter after the chapter I'm combining with this one, will be up this week since I technically should have posted the two combined in the first place instead of having a pathetic cliffhanger like I had. Anyway, enjoy the addition!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.**

Gringotts had been robbed, but that was of little concern to Merlin if the vault had already been emptied. As long as it wasn't his vault, then he was okay. No, what interested Merlin was the fact that he was forced to get on a broom Thursday, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

Draco continued to ignore Merlin until said day, but then Merlin decided that he had had enough when the boy started taunting Neville for falling off his broom. _His_ Arthur would never do that, and it became clear to him that Malfoy was putting on a face. He was about to step in, when who should interrupt but the Gryffindors.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom? Never thought _you'd_ like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look! It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

"Give that here, Malfoy."

"Leave it, _Draco_," Merlin and Harry said at the same time.

Malfoy looked at Merlin in surprise, and was that betrayal? But he turned to Harry, and the emotion was gone.

"I think I'll leave it for Longbottom to find- how about- up a tree?"

"Give it _here!_" Harry shouted, but Draco was in the air.

"Come and get it, Potter!"

Merlin's glare was enough to fell armies.

"_No!_ Madam Hooch told us not to move- you'll get us all into trouble," Hermione said, but Harry ignored her and zoomed after Malfoy.

"Give it here, or I'll knock you off that broom."

"Oh, yeah?" Malfoy was worried, and Merlin smirked. Maybe Potter would teach him a lesson.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy."

"Catch it if you can, then!" he yelled, throwing the rememberall through the air. Harry dove after it, barely managing to catch it, then-

"HARRY POTTER! _Never_- in all my time at Hogwarts- how _dare_ you- might have broken your neck-"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor-"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil-"

"But Malfoy-"

"That's _enough,_ Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Harry walked off with Professor McGonagall, and Merlin turned to Malfoy as he landed back on the ground.

"You _prat!_ How could you-"

"Shut up, _Mar_lin," Draco sneered as he passed Merlin, heading back towards the castle. All Merlin could do was glare after him.

He never knew his best friend coming back could hurt this much.

...

Merlin was eating when he heard a commotion near the Gryffindor table.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only- no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has. I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy examined Crabbe and Goyle, then seemed to have a thought.

"Hey, Marlin!" Draco called, noticing that the warlock was listening in on their conversation. "Want to prove your _heritage?_" he sneered.

Marlin sighed. He had a feeling that Malfoy was setting both of them up, but it might be worth the risk. On the one hand, this could get him in bad with Harry. On the other, this could get him back Arthur. An idea came to him.

"Only if you and I have a _talk_ afterwards, _Malfoy_," he hissed, and Malfoy seemed to think this over.

"Deal," he said, and Merlin sighed in relief. He had a feeling that this was a hoax, but he would make Draco go through with it if it was. Plus, there was always that promised _chat._

"MIdnight, all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

Malfoy walked back over to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Merlin, surprising the warlock. Draco sneered at him, obviously pleased with himself, and Merlin frowned.

"The Arthur I knew would never pull a stunt like that," he stated, and Malfoy got another weird look on his face. "You know, I'm holding you to your word. We'll be having that _chat._"

Malfoy looked away, but nodded, and from the brief glance that Merlin got of Malfoy's face, he looked sad.

...

Merlin had somehow managed to do it! He had managed to drag Malfoy from the Slytherin common room to fight Harry like he promised, and this is what led to them standing in the trophy room, facing the rather large group of Gryffindors. Hermione looked at Merlin like she couldn't possibly believe that he was breaking the rules like this, and Harry just glared at him. Then they heard a noise.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

Merlin stiffened. _Filch._

Harry waved for the other three to follow him and Merlin and Draco took off after them, the way they came in obviously not available. They moved through the door when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere, probably hiding."

'This way,' Harry mouthed to the group and they began to creep along the gallery, Merlin much more silent than the rest of the group. They heard Filch getting closer, and Neville panicked and tripped with Ron into a suit of armor.

"RUN!" Harry exclaimed, and they all followed orders, going through corridors at random and tripping into a secret passage, ending up near the Charms classroom.

"I think we've lost him," Harry breathed, Draco struggling to catch his breath.

"We wouldn't've had trouble with him if it weren't for-"

"_Draco,_" Merlin reprimanded the boy, and he quickly shut his mouth, getting the strange look on his face again.

"I_- told- _you. I- told- you," Hermione panted.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower, quickly as possible," Ron said.

"And us to the dungeons," Merlin added.

The group headed off in the same direction for the moment, as their houses both lay that way, but then Peeves appeared.

"Shut up, Peeves- please- you'lll get us thrown out."

"Wandering around at midnight Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

Merlin glared at the ghost. "Peeves, be quiet or you can be sure the Baron'll hear of this," he threatened, and the ghost froze for a moment, but let out a wicked cackle as he realized who he was talking to.

"Oh, the Baron likes Marlin, doesn't he? Who does the Baron say Marlin is...?"

Merlin's eyes glowed, and Peeves suddenly found himself without a voice. Merlin ran forward and gestured for them to head forwards. They walked down the corridor, only to be stopped when Merlin's spell wore off and Peeves shouted:

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Draco glared at Merlin as they started running and said, "Couldn't you have made it last longer?"

Merlin glared right back, "These spells have a distance limit, you know!"

They rammed into a locked door, banging against it.

"This is it! We're done for! This is the end!" Ron shouted.

"Oh, move over," Hermione growled, grabbing Harry's wand and casting an unlocking charm. The door opened and they went through, shutting it behind them and pressing their ears against the wood.

"Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please.'"

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now _where did they go?_"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please."

"All right- _please._"

"NOTHING!" Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"

For once, Merlin was grateful for Peeves' prankster ways.

"He thinks this door is locked. I think we'll be okay- get _off, _Neville! _What?_"

Merlin turned around as he felt hot breath on the back of his neck, and gaped. There, before him, stood a magical creature. It was a giant, three headed dog, and Merlin could quite honestly say that he hadn't seen one before. Normally he would say that it was a learning experience and quickly proceed to slay it if it threatened them, but at the moment he was preoccupied with how close the beast was to them. Draco assumed his battle pose and pulled out his wand, glaring at it as he realized that it wasn't a sword. Merlin would've rolled his eyes and been glad that Draco was starting to accept his role as Arthur, but instead he just screamed _"Forbaerne!" _and ran out the door with the others, not looking to see if his fire spell hit. He and Draco split from the group and ran back to the dungeons, gasping for breath as they spoke the password and shuffled into the common room, heading for their dorms when a voice stopped them.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to take points from my house, boys, but as you _insist _on breaking the rules..."

Merlin and Draco whirled around to face Snape, who was looking rather stern with crossed arms and a scowl on his face.

"Tell me," he said, "What could _possibly_ posses you to go out at this time of night?"

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Merlin stopped him, "We were having a wizard's duel," he stated, figuring that the truth was the best way to get out of this. Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I am inclined to believe you, Emrys. Let me guess- with Potter?" Merlin simply nodded, "And why did you not choose to have this duel during the day?"

Merlin swallowed- he didn't think the truth was good enough for that question. Snape nodded.

"I see, you were planning on setting them up, but, for _some reason,_ decided that the more... _honourable_ route should be taken."

Merlin swallowed again- Snape had hit the nail on the head. The professor nodded again.

"I see. Well, then, you will have detention with me tomorrow evening. Now, to your dorms," he said before they could object. Merlin and Draco nodded and headed to their dorms and tucked into bed, Draco smirking once they finally reached the safety of their beds.

Merlin tried to go to sleep, but a thought kept him awake, and he turned over to face Malfoy.

"Hey, Arthur?" he asked, wary of the boy's reaction to that name. Draco just grunted. "You _are_ going to let me talk some sense into you, right?"

"Go to sleep, Merlin," Draco muttered sleepily, and Merlin beamed.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face.

...

Friday morning came, and found Draco being dragged up several flights of stairs to the seventh floor corridor, where the warlock who dragged him there began to pace.

"_Mar_lin, you better have brought me up here for a better reason then just pacing-"

"Shut up, Arthur, you'll make me lose my train of thought."

Draco promptly shut up at the use of his past name and gaped as a door appeared in the wall.

"How..." Draco started, then trailed off.

"It's the Room of Requirement, it appears when you pace by this wall," Merlin started as he opened the door and gestured for Draco to go inside. He walked, dazed, into the room and gasped as he saw the inside. Merlin just grinned goofily as he saw how the room had changed- it was an exact replica of Arthur's bedroom, down to the last stitch.

Draco looked around the room in nostalgia for a moment, then shook his head, pain clouding his eyes. He looked at Merlin as he sat down on his bed.

"So," he stated as Merlin sat down next to him, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes," Merlin said, then looked down, "But I'm not sure where to start. How much do you remember?"

"Everything," Draco said simply, then sighed, "It's hard."

Merlin frowned, "Why?" he asked.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Why is it so hard?"

Draco opened his mouth indignantly, then paused.

"I don't know," he said eventually, "I guess it's just a lot to take in."

Merlin nodded, "So, why don't you accept it?" he asked.

Draco laughed, "It's not that easy. It's like I have two minds, and they're fighting for control. I'm not like Arthur, and I never-"

"Bull," Merlin interrupted, and Draco gaped, "You _are_ Arthur. You know, on the boats to Hogwarts, you were practically _quoting_ yourself without even remembering. You _are_ Arthur, and you just have to accept that."

Draco hung his head, "It's not that-"

"I think it _is_ that easy. Just _try_, okay?"

Draco nodded, "Okay. I'll try."

Merlin smiled, and there was a silence, before:

"Hey, Arthur?"

"What?"

Merlin smiled at his response. "Are you going to start treating me like a normal person now?"

Draco scoffed, "Like I ever did that in the first place."

...

Merlin had guessed that detention with Professor Snape would be a nightmare.

In his standards, he was wrong. In Draco's standards, he was right.

They were scrubbing out cauldrons, and Merlin had plenty of practice for that. However, Draco, past king and current noble that he is, was beginning to appreciate Merlin's time as a servant.

They were passing the time in silence, not willing to speak and incite the wrath of Professor Snape, when Draco suddenly stopped, frowning as though concentrating. He then gasped, and dropped his cleaning rag, his eyes lighting up.

Professor Snape stared at him from grading his potions, looking at Draco with as much concern as was possible for the potions master, which was a very minimal amount. Merlin just stared at Draco, concerned for him, but aware of what was happening. His spell was taking effect.

Draco then stopped staring into space, and went back to cleaning his cauldron. Professor Snape had an irked look on his face now.

"What was that, Malfoy?" he asked, and Draco frowned, apparently thinking something up.

"...Just figured something out, Professor," he said, and Merlin smiled.

Professor Snape looked like a fly had climbed up his nostril, though, and, after a few moments, dismissed them.

Merlin turned to Draco as they were leaving.

"Figured it out, did you?"

Draco nodded, "A little."

The Slytherins wondered when Merlin and Draco entered the common room smiling.

...

Marlin Emrys was a mystery, Harry decided.

First he insults Draco Malfoy, then he becomes friends with Draco Malfoy, then he fights with Draco Malfoy, and now they're suddenly friends again.

It confused Harry.

How could somebody be so nice to him, and then turn around and become friends with _Draco Malfoy?_ Did he think he could _change_ Malfoy?

Harry seriously doubted it.

But then, there was the wizard's duel. Hermione had told him that she doubted that Malfoy was coming to the trophy room, and Harry had doubted it as well for a while, and yet he had come. With Marlin.

Had Marlin convinced him to come? Did he really have that much sway over Malfoy?

And what about that spell that Marlin had thrown at the three-headed dog? Harry didn't see him use a wand, but perhaps he was wrong. A _first-year_ couldn't do wandless magic, could they?

And then there was this about a chat. Is that why Marlin was now friends with Malfoy again? And why would they get in a fight in the first place?

These questions bothered Harry, and, one day, he had decided that he would ask Marlin. He managed to catch him on his way from the Great Hall.

"Hey, Marlin!"

Marlin stopped and turned around to face Harry, looking somewhat confused but smiling, nonetheless.

"Hey, Harry," he said, "How've you been?"

"Okay, but I suppose I should be asking you that," he said, and Merlin raised an eyebrow, looking confused and somewhat panicked. "Didn't you get in a fight with Draco?" Harry continued.

The panic increased for a moment, then disappeared. "Oh, yeah. Malfoy found out that I'm a Half-Blood. He got over it, though."

Harry nodded, deciding that that made some sense, and then Draco appeared beside Marlin. He looked at Harry, a strange expression on his face, but then turned to Marlin and grabbed one of his oversized ears, dragging him.

"Ow! _Ow!_ Stop!"

Draco frowned.

"Only if you help me with this Gods-forsaken homework. I swear, how you do it..."

Their voices drifted off, and Harry realized that he hadn't asked about the fireball.

Oh, well. He would probably get another chance.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Ooh, you guys are lucky that I'm bored. Essentially two chapters in one day! And this chapter is the sum of two chapters, because it was originally too short in my mind! Lucky you!**

**If you don't know what I'm talking about, please go read the last chapter's author's note. And the last chapter.**

**As always, thanks for the feedback. You're all awesome.**

**One thing- I've used something in here that I hope you guys don't hate me for, but I've realized that most Merlin crossovers have been lacking. You'll probably guess what it is when you read it, but if I screw up anything, you're welcome to comment and point out the flaw.**

**Also, I'm going to change thoughts to be ****_italicized_****. I'm sorry if this annoys you, but until I can switch out chapters with newer versions without spamming all your inboxes, I'm going to hold off on changing what I've already posted.**

**Please excuse this, but for those who don't like reading the author's note, I have to do this.**

**IMPORTANT! I combined the chapter before this one with chapter 7! If you haven't read it, please go back and do so in order for this to make more sense!**

**Thank you, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.**

A week passed with Draco trying as hard as he could to ignore Potter, but the part of him that was raised by Lucius Malfoy was still extremely ticked when he saw the broomstick land in front of Harry. Merlin followed him, trying to stop him from being a prat, but it seemed none could hold back Hurricane Draco this time.

They followed Harry out of the hall, Malfoy employing Crabbe and Goyle, who, for some reason, dogged Draco like lost puppies, to bar the way upstairs. Malfoy took the package from Harry.

"That's a broomstick," he said, giving it back to Harry. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

Merlin stepped forward, "Draco, what did I tell you-"

"Shut up, _Mar_lin."

Ron stepped in, "It's not any old broomstick, it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty? Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

Draco fumed, "What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle. I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

Merlin gasped, "Draco!"

"_Mar_lin!" the boy whirled around to glare at Merlin, almost knocking over Professor Flitwick, who was standing at Malfoy's side.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he asked, though why he needed to was beyond Merlin.

Malfoy took his chance, "Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," he said, looking smug.

"Yes, yes, that's right. Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

To say Malfoy was gobsmacked would be an understatement.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir. And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it."

Harry and Ron went upstairs, leaving a fuming Malfoy and a somewhat stern Merlin behind.

Merlin sighed.

"Draco, you've _got _to stop being such a prat."

...

Nothing much happened after that- Harry had Quidditch practice, Merlin tried and failed to get in contact with him, and Hermione and Draco had a silent war over who got to sit with Merlin during potions. Eventually, Merlin got tired of it.

"Draco, why don't you let me partner with Hermione this time around, and we'll be partners next class?"

Draco turned to Merlin with a queer look on his face, and Hermione shuffled nervously. "Why would you want to work with _her?_ She's a muggle-born," he said, and Merlin suddenly became aware of the reason for Draco's coldness towards her. He glared at the blonde.

"You know, I never thought I'd hear you spouting pureblood ideals, _Draco. _Weren't you the one talking about equality all the time?" he spat, and Malfoy winced as he realized the confliction with his words. Suddenly Merlin realized something, and his gaze softened.

"That's why it's so hard, isn't it? You're like exact opposites, in some ways."

Draco nodded, though he didn't meet Merlin's gaze. Hermione just looked confused. Eventually, Draco swayed.

"I'll just go sit by Zabini," he said, and Merlin nodded. Once he was gone, Hermione turned to Merlin.

"What was that about?" she asked, clearly confused.

Merlin just waved off the question as Professor Snape walked in.

...

Eventually, Samhain came along again, and Merlin started to feel antsy. His magic was restless this time of year, and he just itched to turn the entire castle green. It would certainly be a good prank, he thought, but not very good if the headmaster figured out who cast the spell. He had had little contact with the headmaster since he came to Hogwarts, and he intended to keep it that way.

It didn't help that he bumped into a crying Hermione on the way to Charms. She almost slipped past him, but he stopped her just in time and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

Hermione looked up at him, "What do you care? You actually have _friends, _unlike _me,"_ she said, trying to push past him again, and Merlin frowned as he stopped her.

"Hermione, what are you talking about? You have friends._ I'm_ your friend, aren't I?"

Hermione sniffed. "Are you?" she asked.

"Of course!"

"You don't think I'm a nightmare, then?"

Merlin furrowed his brow, "Of course not! Who said that?"

Hermione shook her head, "Nobody of consequence," she said, then blinked up at Merlin, saying, "Thank you, Marlin," and walking off, brushing off her tears.

Hermione was only in the bathroom for one period that day as she fought to regain control of herself, and Merlin was surprised to see her sit next to him at the Halloween feast, much to the displeasure of his fellow Slytherins. Draco looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked, and Hermione glared at him.

"I'm sitting with my _friend,_" she said, and Merlin smiled.

For a while Merlin and Hermione talked about nothing in particular, and eventually Draco joined their conversation, though Merlin still thought he was being somewhat of a prat to Hermione.

After a while, Draco seemed to get up his courage and asked Hermione, "So, what's with that dog in the third floor corridor?" in a low voice.

Hermione looked startled at his question, and Merlin figured she wasn't expecting Draco to ask that.

"Didn't you notice? It was guarding something- standing on a trap door. I, personally, don't care to find out what it's guarding, but Harry and _Ron,_" she practically spat the name, "seem to think otherwise."

Merlin frowned, "Do they _want _to get themselves killed?" he asked, and Draco scoffed.

"Since when has Potter been known for his good judgement?"

Merlin turned to Draco, "Think we should look into it?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, better you than Potter, huh?"

Hermione stared at them, "You two are such hypocrites! First you criticize Harry and Ron, and now you want to go jumping after them! Are you _trying_ to get expelled?"

Draco laughed, "They can't expell _Marlin!_ _That _would be hypocrisy!"

Hermione frowned, "What do you-"

Their conversation was interrupted when Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall and approached Professor Dumbledore, saying, "Troll- in the dungeons- thought you ought to know," and fainting.

The Hall erupted in screams and chatter, and Merlin narrowed his eyes. A troll doesn't just get into Hogwarts. Not in all his years there had something like this happened. He and Draco made eye contact, and they both stood up, running from the hall with Hermione following them.

"And just _where _are you two going! You can't _possibly _think you're going after a troll! You-"

Draco held up a hand to silence her, and turned to Merlin. "Can you sense it? The troll?"

Merlin nodded, "I can try," he said, and then closed his eyes, sensing the magic around him and picking out a foreign string. He followed the trail and found the troll lurking in the second floor corridor. He opened his eyes.

"It's in the second floor corridor, by the girls' bathroom" Merlin said, and Hermione gaped.

"How can you tell?"

Merlin ignored her and he and Draco rushed to the second floor, a scolding Hermione following. They were almost at the bathroom when they ran into Harry and Ron, who quickly pulled them into an alcove.

"What are you doing?" Ron hissed to Hermione, "We were looking for you!"

Hermione scowled at him, "I was following these idiots! They seem to think they can take on a troll by themselves!"

"Shh!" Harry hissed, and Merlin looked out from their alcove to see Snape.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Merlin asked, watching the professor suspiciously.

"I don't know! Come on!" Harry said, then they snuck past Snape, and Harry and Ron headed towards the Gryffindor Common Room while Draco and Merlin headed to the bathroom. Hermione stood still and looked at the Slytherins.

"Are you crazy? Come on!"

Harry and Ron turned around to look at them, and Merlin shook his head.

"I'm not going to let a _troll_ roam the school!" Merlin said, and Hermione stared at him.

"That's the teachers' jobs! Come on!"

Merlin just shook his head and turned around, Draco following him. Hermione sighed in exasperation and followed after her friends, Ron and Harry following her when they realized that she wasn't coming with them.

"Hermione! Wait! Let's just go back to the Common Room!"

"No!

There was a crash, and they rushed forward, Merlin stopping with his hand out and Draco glaring at his wand as they saw the troll, which had exited the Girls' Bathroom and was now staring confusedly at the group. It apparently put two and two together in its tiny brain because it then charged towards Draco, who Merlin pulled to the side.

"See, I told you you were a magnet for trouble!" Merlin told Draco as the two of them stood back up. He scoffed.

"Well, if I had my s_word_-"

Merlin held his hand out as he realized that the troll was now heading towards the rest of the group, and yelled out, "Forbaernan!" sending a ball of flame towards the troll, which blasted it right through the torso. It fell to the ground, and everybody stared at Merlin.

...Including the teachers that had just rounded the corner.

The teachers were speechless. Merlin patiently waited for somebody to say something. Sadly, the shock was apparently too much for them, because Draco was the first to break the silence by hitting Merlin over the head.

"_Mar_lin, you idiot! If my father hears I've been expelled-"

"Oi, you clotpole! What was this you said about how they couldn't-"

"_Clotpole?_" That was Snape. He had shifted from staring speechless to staring incredulously at the first thing that at least had the semblance of normality. This just happened to be Merlin's insult.

Thankfully, this shook the other teachers out of their stupor. McGonagall was the next to recover.

"What in the world were you thinking! Facing down a troll- why, I _should_ have you expellled!" she told the Gryffindors, doing all she could to ignore the Slytherins, though she did glance at Merlin several times with fear in her eyes.

Flitwick stepped to the Transfiguration Professor's side, "Now, Minerva, I'm sure that _they_ weren't the ones planning on fighting a troll," he said, surprisingly level headed. McGonagall looked at him with fury in her eyes.

"Then why weren't they in their Common Room! Really, the thought of-"

Unfortunately, Merlin didn't get to hear the rest of the Gryffindors' reprimanding because Snape chose that moment to storm towards the Slytherins.

"Come," he said simply with cold fury in his words, and Merlin quickly decided that he really shouldn't have gotten on Snape's bad side. He stormed off, limping slightly, (though Merlin really couldn't have cared less at the moment,) and Draco and Merlin followed, the teachers behind them sending grateful looks at Snape.

Snape led them to a gargoyle, and Merlin's stomach sank as he realized where they were. He had meant to not have a problem with the headmaster until _much _later in his time at Hogwarts, but here they were, standing in front of the entrance to his office, in the middle of first year.

Snape said, "Lemon drop," and Merlin had only a second to think of how strange those words sounded coming out of the professor's mouth before the Gargoyle moved to reveal a staircase. Snape stormed up the staircase, not even checking to see if the two Slytherins were following before vanishing from sight. Merlin followed behind, clenching and unclenching his fists to get rid of his frustration.

They climbed the stairs, eventually ending up in front of a wooden door which Snape knocked on. A call of "Enter," was heard from inside, and the group walked through the door.

The headmaster's office was just as Merlin remembered it, with the addition of a few paintings. There were tons of bits and bobs and things that not even _he _knew the use for cluttered everywhere, and paintings littered the walls, a few of them looking down at him in unhidden confusion as they must have recognized him from their years here. At the very top, the founders were asleep, and Merlin was glad. He had known them briefly, but not long enough to have any significance in their memories, he thought. Still, he _had_ suggested the idea of a school, and that might be enough for them to remember him by.

Sitting at a desk in front of him, patiently waiting as he and Draco took in the room, was Professor Dumbledore.

Snape, though, was getting tired of waiting, and said, "Headmaster," snapping the two Slytherins out of their musings.

Dumbledore looked up at the Professor from looking at the two students, and a smile graced his features. "Ah, Professor Snape. What can I do for you this fine evening?"

Merlin briefly wondered if the headmaster had not been all there when Quirrell had announced the presence of the troll, and quickly decided that the answer was obvious.

Snape didn't seem to have this thought, though, as he simply said, "Headmaster, these two _first-years_ killed a troll."

Professor Dumbledore seemed mildly surprised, but not enough to change his expression. He kept on smiling as he said, "Is that so? Well, I don't see how this warrants a visit to my office, Professor."

Snape didn't waver, and looked the headmaster square in his twinkling eyes, "Using wandless magic," he finished, and the surprise in the headmaster's face was now evident. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked, then turned to Merlin. "Is this true...?"

"Marlin," Merlin said, not really willing to answer that question. He sighed as the headmaster continued to stare at him. "It's true," he admitted, figuring that lying wouldn't do him any good. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose even higher.

"I must say, Marlin, I am surprised. Wandless magic is very difficult, and for a first year to learn it..." he paused and looked Merlin right in the eyes, and the warlock got the distinct impression that he was trying to read him. "It's highly improbable," he finished, still raking Merlin with his eyes.

Merlin shifted a little and there was a silence until Draco spoke up.

"Really, I'm sure _Mer_lin here wouldn't be able to have done it if he wasn't such a bookworm," Draco said, ignoring Merlin's horrified glance at his real name.

Then again, Merlin thought, Dumbledore would probably just think of it as a nickname with how Draco used it. He almost let himself relax until he saw Dumbledore's curious gaze on him as Draco continued.

"He just got a book on the subject to try it out and has been practicing ever since," Draco explained, "I'm surprised an idiot like him could even get through the book, to be honest."

As Draco said this, Dumbledore continued to examine Merlin, as well as Snape, and with a jolt Merlin felt a push on his mind, then cursed himself. Dumbledore was using Legilimency! He hastily put up his Occlumency barriers, hoping that the headmaster hadn't seen anything too revealing.

Then Snape prodded his mind as well, and he glared at the potions professor. Apparently he was more intimidating than he thought, because Snape left his mind alone after that.

He couldn't tell whether or not that twinkle in Dumbledore's eye was because he had found out or because Merlin was an Occlumens. He shifted his gaze to Draco, and Merlin frowned as he prodded the boy's mind himself and was rewarded with _thoughts._

Oh no, Merlin thought.

And that damn _twinkle_ was still there.

Then the headmaster's face was contorted in surprise, there only briefly, and Merlin cursed internally as he realized that the headmaster had found what he was looking for.

"Well," the headmaster said eventually, smiling knowingly at Merlin, "I believe that I should congratulate you on your success, Marlin. It is indeed amazing for a first-year to be able to perform spells wandlessly. One would wonder if you needed to go to this school in the first place." There was a question in his eyes as he said this.

"Well, I live with my muggle parent, so, yes," Merlin said, a challenge in his voice. Part of him wondered what the headmaster would do with this knowledge, but Dumbledore just nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see. Well, try not to take on a troll again, Marlin, Draco. We wouldn't want you hurting yourselves," he said, and Merlin sensed that there was some kind of double meaning to his words. "Well, then, good evening," he said, and nodded to the door. Merlin turned to leave, and Draco followed him. The potions professor almost seemed to want to stop them, but then Dumbledore called out, "Severus, stay," and Merlin and Draco were left to descend the stairs on their own.

As soon as the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office was out of sight, Merlin let out a frustrated growl.

"That prat! He was using Legilimency on us!" Merlin exclaimed in response to Draco's confused look. Draco frowned.

"What is it?" he asked, and Merlin looked at the boy.

"Oh, he was basically just reading our minds," Merlin growled, and Draco gaped.

"You don't mean-"

"Of course! You're not an Occlumens! He could read your mind perfectly fine!" Merlin shouted, "And with our luck, he's probably gone and told Snape as well!"

Draco stopped in his tracks at that, and Merlin turned to look at him. The boy looked panicked.

"What if Snape tells my father?" he said, and Merlin frowned.

"That would be a problem, then," he said carefully, fully aware of the boy's father and his history. Draco swallowed, getting paler by the second.

"What if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named comes back and he tells him?" Malfoy whispered, and Merlin walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Arthur," Merlin said, and Draco nodded, swallowing and following Merlin as they headed back to the dungeons.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Okay, not much to say today. Couldn't really combine this with another chapter like I did the last two, so it's kind of short. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Merlin.**

Hermione couldn't _believe_ this! How could Marlin be so _stupid!_ He was going to get himself _killed,_ and then where would she be?

And she had no problem of telling him this as he headed on his way to the second floor corridor to fight a troll in a bathroom, where, she realized with a shudder, she would be if Marlin hadn't comforted her.

It was with an indignant squeak that she was pulled into an alcove to find Ron and Harry staring at her.

"What are you doing? We were looking for you!" hissed Ron, and if Hermione wasn't too busy worrying about Marlin, she might've been a bit touched and promptly forgive Ron for his words. As it was, Marlin was occupying the majority of her thoughts, and only a small part of her was happy.

However, it was with no hesitation that she replied, "I was following these idiots! They seem to think they can take on a troll by themselves!"

Then Harry said, "Shh!" and she was silenced.

Hermione looked out from the alcove to see Snape, and stifled a squeak of fear.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Merlin asked.

Oh, I don't know, fighting a troll because he is actually capable of doing it?

retorted Hermione in her thoughts.

Harry then said, "I don't know! Come on!" and they snuck past Snape, Harry and Ron heading towards the Common Room, and Draco and Merlin heading towards the bathroom. Hermione stood there for a moment, then quickly decided that Marlin actually considered her a friend, and she should still try to stop him from facing a full-grown troll.

"Are you crazy? Come on!" she exclaimed, and Merlin shook his head, frustrating her to no end.

"I'm not going to let a _troll_ roam the school!"

"That's the teachers' jobs! Come on!"

Merlin shook his head and turned around, and Hermione sighed in exasperation. They were going to get themselves _killed! _She was vaguely aware of Ron and Harry following her as she followed Marlin and Draco.

"Hermione! Wait!" they shouted, and she ignored them. "Let's just go back to the Common Room!"

"No!" she shouted with no hesitation, and then there was a crash. Marlin and Draco rushed forward, Marlin stopping with his hand out, which seemed like a futile gesture to Hermione, and Draco glaring at his wand as though he wished it were something else. Hermione wondered what he could _possibly_ replace a wand with in terms of usefulness, but then the troll charged towards Draco and Merlin pulled him to the side and she was snapped out of her musings.

"See, I told you you were a magnet for trouble!" Merlin shouted, and Hermione was stunned that he could possibly make jokes at a time like this, but was jolted back to reality as Draco said something even more strange.

"Well, if I had my _sword-"_

Hermione briefly wondered how a _sword_ could compare to a _wand_ and why Draco would want a _sword_ in the first place when he could easily use his _wand _and whether Draco had lessons in fencing, which she doubted was taught to the pureblood families, as it _is _a muggle sport, before the troll was running towards her and her friends and Merlin shouted some gibberish word that she didn't understand and the troll suddenly had a giant hole through its side, falling to the ground. She stared.

And then Draco hit Marlin over the head.

"_Mar_lin, you idiot! If my father hears I've been expelled-"

"Oi, you clotpole!" _What?_ "What was this you said about how they couldn't-"

"_Clotpole?_" Snape said, and then Hermione became aware of the teachers that had appeared.

Then McGonagall rounded on the Gryffindors.

"What in the world were you thinking! facing down a troll- why, I _should_ have you expelled!"

Hermione cringed, and then Flitwick stepped in.

"Now, Minerva, I'm sure that _they_ weren't the ones planning on fighting a troll," he said, sending the Slytherins a meaningful look. Hermione admired how level-headed he was being about all of this, but McGonagall looked at him with fury in her eyes.

"Then why weren't they in their Common Room! Really, the thought of _my lions_ going after a troll-"

Hermione was vaguely aware of Snape saying, "Come," in the middle of McGonagall's tangent and walking off with the Slytherins.

"-is preposterous!" McGonagall finished, and then noticed Snape leading the Slytherins away and sent him a thankful look.

Hermione got her courage up when she realized that McGonagall was finished. "It was my fault, Professor," she said, and McGonagall looked at her in surprise.

"Miss Granger, how could it be your fault? Those Slytherins-"

"-Were following my lead," Hermione interrupted, partly horrified at the fact that she had just interrupted a teacher. "I went looking for the troll because I- I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I've read all about them. Harry and Ron went looking for me when they didn't see me going back to the Common Room, and Marlin and Draco were trying to help me."

McGonagall stared at Hermione, then eventually sighed. "Well- in that case..." she said, "Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses," she said, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to Gryffindor tower, wondering what had gotten into her head to lie to a teacher like that. She heard McGonagall say something including, "Lucky," and "Professor Dumbledore," but she couldn't bring herself to care as she made her way to the Common Room.

"Pig snout," she said, and went into the Common Room, met by several stares from her fellow Gryffindors, which she promptly ignored.

She stood by the door to wait for Harry and Ron. Eventually, Harry and Ron entered the Common Room as well, and there was an awkward pause as they all avoided each others' eyes. Then, they all said "Thanks," and went to join the feast.

But, Hermione liked to think that she had gained a few more friends at that moment, and that that feast was the best meal that she had had at Hogwarts to date.

...

Snape was gobsmacked. Dumbledore was just letting them off like _that!_ He was letting them go without any questions and that flimsy explanation? Sometimes the potions professor worried for the headmaster's sanity.

He was about to call Professor Dumbledore out on this, but was stopped when the headmaster called, "Severus, stay," and the two were allowed to leave the headmaster's office with no problems.

There was a silence as the two left the room, but as soon as the door was closed Snape whirled on the headmaster.

"What do you think you are doing? That weak explanation _hardly_ shows how a first-year can do wandless magic," he said with cold fury, fighting to keep his calm.

Dumbledore just studied him as he waited for an answer, and eventually said, "Have you used Legilimency on the boys, Severus?" leaving Snape with even more frustration at his lack of an answer and confusion at the question.

"You know I don't use it without a reason," he snapped, which was _partially _true. He _did_ use it on Marlin, but he wouldn't use it on Draco without a good reason, for fear of what the boy's father would do if he found out.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye just seemed to get more potent.

"Oh, but if I'm right, you used it on Marlin, did you not?" he asked, and Snape creased his brow. He should have guessed that the headmaster would figure it out.

"I find a first-year knowing wandless magic as a perfectly good reason," he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Ah, yes, that is a good reason. It is also strange for a first year to know Occlumency, but, tell me, did you think to use it on Draco?"

Snape frowned. "No. I fear what his father would do if he found out," he said, and Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling all the more.

"Ah, but I fear what his father would do if he found out what was in the boy's head. Did you know that Marlin has shared all his secrets with him? The boy's mind is quite surprising."

Snape stared at the headmaster. "Are you suggesting that I go and poke around in one of my student's minds?"

Dumbledore's eyes just twinkled. "I assure you, you have all the reason in the world to investigate Marlin. Now, is there anything else you would like to talk about, Severus?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Okay, this is kind of late, but finals and my parents finally letting me have Netflix have distracted me. I'm irresponsible, I know.**

**Anyway, I've watched the series finale, and I have finally decided that this is going to be after season 4, and AU past that, because Merlin is just ****_too sad_**** in season 5. I won't bother you with my rant on the ending.**

**This isn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.**

It seemed word had gotten out about Merlin's adventure with the troll overnight, and the entire school now knew that he could do wandless magic. To say this disturbed Merlin would be an understatement.

He was becoming somewhat of a celebrity at the school. The teachers tiptoed around him and whispers broke out whenever he passed another group of students. He was beginning to feel sympathetic for Harry Potter, as he had gotten this special treatment from the first time he set foot in the Leaky Cauldron.

Unfortunately, it only increased when Blaise added to the rumors.

Apparently, defeating the troll wasn't enough for the Slytherin to talk about, and he made it all worse by blurting out, "Well, he _is_ Merlin's descendant, after all."

The whispers increased tenfold, and Merlin was now held in awe by some of the Ravenclaws. He was beginning to think that he wouldn't get more popular among them if he was Merlin himself, which he was, and he often found himself approached by a bolder Ravenclaw asking if it was true, followed by several annoying questions which he couldn't possibly know. How the brainiest house seemed to think that 'Marlin' would know what Merlin was like when he _supposedly_ was his ancestor was beyond him.

Of course, Merlin eventually got tired of all the lying and it was with an irritated voice that he exclaimed, "What!" when he was cornered by yet another student on his way to the dungeons. Unfortunately, this student was Hermione.

"I-I was just wondering if it was true!" Hermione blurted out, and Merlin's expression softened.

"Sorry, Hermione, I've just been getting that quite a lot," he said, and then sighed, hating lying to Hermione but having to do it, nonetheless.

"Yes, it's true," he told her, and she perked up, opening her mouth to ask a question but stopping when Merlin added, "And if you ask me what he was like, I will be forced to do something I regret."

Hermione's expression was one of shock, but she laughed when she realized what Merlin had said. "Oh, no, I was going to ask what your family knows of him," she said, and Merlin visibly relaxed.

"Well, you're smarter than most of the Ravenclaws, then," Merlin said, and then quickly spun a tale in his mind.

...

Merlin had every reason to freak out the next potions class. It seemed that Snape had taken to watching Draco, and though he hadn't acted surprised at all just yet, it was getting on his nerves.

He had doubted that the potions master would use Legilimency on Draco just yet, as he had obviously heard the rumors and it seemed that Dumbledore hadn't told him just yet, but he was probably wrong.

In a rare moment where Snape's attention was distracted from Draco, Merlin turned to the boy.

"Arthur," he started, using his past name to get the boy's attention. Draco looked at him.

"What?" he asked, worry in his voice.

"Just thought I should warn you- Snape's a Legilimens, too," he whispered, and Draco's eyes widened, then he looked over Merlin's shoulder with panic in his eyes. Merlin followed his gaze and was filled with dread to see Snape right beside them.

"I fail to see what this conversation has to do with the potion," Snape said, and Draco swallowed as the potions professor examined him. Merlin turned back to the potion as Snape looked away, showing no sign of having read Draco's mind. Draco sighed in relief as he added the horned slugs to the potion, Merlin stopping him just in time before he added one too many.

Snape stopped staring at Malfoy as much after that, and it was at the end of the period when Merlin bottled up the potion and handed it to Snape that he caught him eyeing Draco again. The potions professor took the potion from Merlin without really paying attention, and promptly dropped it as he continued to stare at Draco with wide eyes. Merlin swallowed as Snapes gaze shifted to him.

"Uh, I- I'll go bottle up another sample, then," he said nervously, rushing back to the cauldron where Draco was staring at Snape with a panicked expression.

"Did he...?" Draco trailed off and swallowed as Merlin nodded.

Merlin bottled up the sample and handed it to Snape as fast as he could, aware of the professor's gaze on him the entire time.

Finally, the class was dismissed, and Draco walked over to Merlin, saying, "What do you think he'll do?"

Merlin turned around to see Snape's eyes still on him, and he sighed as he honestly replied, "I don't know."

...

The rest of the day Merlin passed in silence, ignoring the curious gazes sent to him by Blaise, and the next morning he woke up to Draco shaking him and groaned.

"Come on, Marlin, the first Quidditch match is today!"

Merlin opened his eyes to glare at Draco. "You're always going to be like this about sports, aren't you?" he asked, "I'm just glad you're not on the team."

Draco frowned, "And why would that be?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you would make me help you practice like you always did before those damn tournaments?" he said sarcastically, and Draco scoffed.

"Oh, come on. I wasn't _that _hard on you," he said, and Merlin raised an eyebrow. Draco sighed and went to get changed, saying, "Just get out of bed, _Mar_lin," as he left.

Merlin sighed and rolled out of bed.

...

Merlin stood out in the stands, Draco watching the pitch eagerly, even though nobody had entered it yet. Merlin sighed.

"If there was ever a sport more pointless than the melee, then this is it," he said, and Draco glared at him.

"What would you know, _Mar_lin?" he asked, and Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"How many Quidditch World Cups have _you_ been to?" he said, and Draco frowned and continued watching the pitch. Merlin smirked.

"That's what I thought."

"Shut up, _Mar_lin!"

Then there was a cheer as the teams headed out onto the field, and Madam Hooch said something to them, both teams mounting their brooms at her command. She blew her whistle, and they were in the air.

Merlin could hardly follow what was going on, and he was getting dizzy from watching the chasers. The commentary only confused him even more. Eventually, he just decided to watch Harry as he searched for the Snitch.

After a while, Harry went into a dive, neck and neck with Terence Higgs, and Merlin had little time to wonder which side he should be cheering for before there was a foul and the Snitch disappeared from sight again.

Then Harry dodged a bludger, and his broom lurched. Merlin leaned forward as Harry's broom continued to lurch, and Draco turned to him.

"What's happening?" he asked, and Merlin frowned, sensing some dark magic coming from the teacher's stands. He looked over and his gaze landed on Quirrell, who's dark aura was pulsating. Merlin looked away and scowled as the professor caught his eye.

"Marlin?" Draco asked, but Merlin ignored him and started chanting in the Old Religion after looking over and seeing Snape performing some sort of counter-curse and figuring two were better than one. His eyes glowed gold as he finished his spell, and Harry clambered up onto his broom.

Draco looked at him with a question in his eyes, and Merlin said, "Quirrell was cursing Harry's broom."

Draco gaped, "Quirrell?"

"Yeah, can't you sense the dark magic surrounding him? I knew something was off about him," Merlin explained, and then turned back to the game as Harry spit out the Snitch, waving it above his head. Merlin raised an eyebrow.

...

"Well, that was certainly the most interesting Quidditch match I've ever seen," Merlin congratulated Harry as he left the Great Hall from dinner.

Harry looked like he didn't know whether to be happy or offended. "Uh, thanks?" he said, then frowned. "I thought you grew up with muggles?"

Merlin realized his mistake. "Well, it'll have to be the most interesting if it's the first, right?" he said, "Though I was worried when somebody cursed your broom."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You could tell?" he asked.

"Of course!" Merlin exclaimed, then realized that he didn't know how to explain how he knew.

"How?"

Merlin frowned. He should've figured that Harry would ask something like that. He decided to play innocent.

"You couldn't feel it?" he asked.

"I was kind of busy," Harry said, and Merlin frowned.

"Oh, sorry."

There was an awkward silence, and then Merlin said, "Do you know who cast it?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, "Ron said he saw you chanting when my broom went out of control," he pointed out.

Merlin gaped. "What? Oh, no, you've got this wrong- I was casting a counter curse. It was-"

"Snape, I know," Harry interrupted, Merlin almost relaxing until he realized what Harry had said. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. Thanks for that," he said, and Merlin nodded.

There was another awkward pause, then Harry asked, "Hey, how do you know such advanced magic, anyway?"

Merlin furrowed his brow. "Erm... practice?"

Harry frowned, but then perked up when Ron and Hermione exited the Great Hall, currently fighting over something or other. They headed towards Harry, but stopped when they saw Merlin.

There was another pause, then Hermione walked over to Merlin.

"Hey, Marlin. I heard what you did," she said, and Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Really," he said. She nodded.

"Yeah, casting a counter curse," she said, and then Ron spoke.

"How bloody powerful are you?" he asked, and Merlin just grinned.

Then Harry seemed to have an idea. "Hey, Marlin, do you know anything about Nicolas Flamel?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Merlin asked, not sure that he should tell them anything.

Harry looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then leaned forward and said, "It has to do with the third floor corridor. Hermione said that you were interested in what that dog was guarding, too."

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "What do you know about that?" he asked, wanting to judge and see what they knew before he told them anything. He figured that he knew exactly what the dog was guarding now.

Harry looked to his friends as if he wasn't sure to trust Marlin, and Hermione nodded to him.

"I trust him. You won't go to Dumbledore, will you?" she asked Marlin, and he scowled.

"It's not like the headmaster and I are on great terms, anyway," he said, and Harry raised an eyebrow at this comment, but continued, nonetheless.

"Well, we know that it's guarding some kind of package- you remember the Gringotts robbery?" Merlin nodded. He vaguely remembered hearing something about that. "Well, when I went to Gringotts, Hagrid emptied this high security vault and took a small package out of it."

Merlin nodded- he guessed that was what it was.

"And you know that Nicolas Flamel is involved somehow?" he asked, and Harry nodded. Merlin thought for a moment, then figured that no harm would come from telling them. "Well, I think I know what it is, but you mustn't do anything about it if my suspicions are correct."

Ron looked like he was about to protest, but Hermione said, "We won't," and he shut his mouth.

Merlin nodded, then said, "If I'm right, we're dealing with the Sorcerer's Stone."

Hermione gasped, but, other than that, there was no reaction. Hermione seemed disappointed in this.

"Oh, don't you guys read? Come on!" she said, and dragged the two to the library, Merlin trailing behind. She pulled out a large book.

"I got this for a bit of light reading," she said, and Ron gaped.

"_Light?_"

She ignored him and started to read:

_"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

_There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty eight)."_

"Though why somebody would want to be immortal is beyond me," Merlin commented when she was finished, and the three looked at him like he was strange.

Which, Merlin thought, he probably was.

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from dying," Harry said, ignoring Merlin. "No wonder Snapes after it. _Anyone_ would want it!"

Merlin frowned. "Snape's not after the Stone," he said, and Harry looked at him.

"Yes, he is! I saw him! He hurt his leg trying to get past the dog!" Harry exclaimed, and Merlin winced at how loud he was becoming. He sighed.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he was trying to _protect_ the stone?" Merlin asked, and Harry frowned.

"If he was trying to protect it, then why would he try to get past the dog?" Harry asked.

Merlin opened his mouth, but then realized that he didn't really have a decent answer for that.

"...Maybe the dog attacked him when he entered the room," Merlin suggested. He was pretty sure that they were wrong about this, but he hoped that Snape wasn't after the Stone, for his sake.

"Well-" Harry said, but then another voice entered there conversation.

"_Mar_lin, you idiot! Where have you been," Draco growled as he approached, grabbing Merlin's arm. "I've been looking for you!"

Merlin frowned.

"I've been talking to people more decent than you, _Draco_," Merlin said, then Malfoy looked at Harry. The two stared at each other.

"...Potter," he said eventually, not able to completely keep the venom out of his voice.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted, not trying to keep the venom out of his voice. Draco scowled and turned back to Merlin.

"Well, Marlin, come on," Draco said, and started to drag Merlin away. Merlin looked at Harry.

"Well, I guess I'll see you," he said, and Harry nodded, still staring after Malfoy.

Once they were far enough away, Merlin ripped himself from Malfoy's grip and glared at him.

"What was that for?" he asked, crossing his arms. Draco copied the movement.

"I heard what you two were talking about, and you were getting too loud," Draco said. Merlin looked back down the hall and noticed more people staring at him than usual. He frowned.

"...Thanks," he said eventually, and Draco frowned.

"You know that Snape isn't going to steal... whatever it was you were talking about, right?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone?" Merlin supplied.

"What's that?"

Merlin sighed, "Oh, just a stone that makes you immortal."

Draco gaped, "Is that what you used, then?"

Merlin frowned, "Of course not! You think I _wanted _this?" he asked, pain in his eyes. Draco realized what he had said.

"Oh, no, you're right. Sorry," he said, and Merlin sighed.

"It's awfully lonely, you know? I can't imagine why _anyone_ would want this."

Draco nodded, looking down, "I understand," he said eventually. Merlin nodded, and then there was an awkward silence. Eventually, Draco grinned.

"So, anyway, Christmas is coming up," Draco started, and Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Really," he said sarcastically, and Draco frowned, punching Merlin in the arm.

"Idiot. I was going to ask where you lived so that we could get together

Merlin gaped, "Surely your father wouldn't approve. I'm _supposed_ to be living with muggles," he said, and Draco crossed his arms, frowning.

"To hell with what my father thinks! Forget the pureblood ideals. What do _you_ think?" he asked, and Merlin continued gaping for a moment before he smiled at Draco's progress.

"I think it's a great idea. Here," he said, conjuring a piece of paper with a flash of his eyes. Several people passing him in the hall stopped to stare, and Draco hit Merlin over the head, causing him to drop the paper. He scowled.

"Hey, what was that for?" he asked, and Draco scowled himself.

"For flouting your powers, idiot. You'd think living in Camelot for all those years would have taught you sublety, but no..."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: I'm sorry its so late, but I've been lazy. I'm not sure if you guys'll like this chapter, but I'm posting anyway.**

**So, Christmas... in June. Yeah, why not? I did a little Christmas party, (though Merlin wouldn't really celebrate Christmas,) and it's going to be kind of corny, and I'm not sure Eric Munch would be invited, but I wanted to choose the typical ministry worker and not make an OC, because I'm awful at coming up with names and I don't want to sabotage someone's favorite character. (God, ****_that_**** was a run-on sentence.) Sorry if you like Eric Munch!**

**Anyway, this chapter appears to be long, and I might just upload another chapter today as I'm super late, so lucky you.**

**Just so you know, I overuse the phrase 'strained smile' in here, so I'm sorry if that gets on your nerves, and you have my permission to insult my limited vocabulary.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or ****_Harry Potter._**

Winter came. A white blanket descended on Hogwarts, and Merlin found himself on the train home, sitting in a compartment with Draco, (and Crabbe and Goyle,) eating Bertie Bott's Beans. Why Draco had found the need to get two boxes was beyond Merlin, but he was liking the result, as Draco was now fingering a light-brown colored bean that Merlin knew the flavor of. He popped it in his mouth and made a face.

"It's rat," he said, and Merlin laughed at his expression. Draco glared. "You could've warned me," he said.

Merlin grinned, "Well, wouldn't that ruin the fun?" he asked, and Draco frowned.

Eventually, though, the two had to part as they left the train, and then Merlin found himself standing before Lucius Malfoy, who's face broke into a rare smile at seeing Draco.

"Ah, Draco, it's good to see you!" he exclaimed as he saw his son, and then his gaze shifted to Merlin and his smile faltered a little.

"And who's this?" he asked, obviously trying to be polite. Merlin held out his hand, nonetheless.

"Marlin Emrys, sir," he said, and Lucius' smile became a bit more genuine, though there was still hostility in his eyes.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Emrys. Draco's told me all about you," he said, and Merlin tried very hard to keep his smile there.

"Really," he asked, looking at Draco. The boy subtly shook his head, and Merlin's smile became easier to hold.

"Yes," Mr. Malfoy said, watching the exchange with mild confusion. His gaze shifted back to Merlin. "I've heard that he wants to see you over the holidays?" Merlin nodded, and Lucius' lips twitched downwards, "Well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again, then. Where are your parents?" he asked.

"Ah, well, I'm taking the knight bus home. I live with my muggle parent, see," Merlin explained at Lucius' confused look. His smile became a bit more strained.

"Ah, well, take care of yourself," he said, and Merlin nodded, Draco nodding to him as he walked out of the station.

...

It was about half a week into the break that Merlin heard a ring at his door. He sighed as he turned off the TV, ready to go and chase the solicitor away when he opened the door to see Lucius Malfoy and a wide-eyed Draco. He looked at Draco, who was staring at him, and his eyes widened as he realized that he had removed the age spell. Lucius smiled at him.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," Merlin said, then remembered that he wasn't supposed to know who Malfoy was. The man cocked an eyebrow, but was still smiling, nonetheless.

"I see your son has told you about us," he said, his voice strained. Merlin realized that he probably thought he was talking to a muggle. He shook his head.

"Oh, he's not my son. Marlin's my... cousin! I'm just here to watch him while his mother's away," Merlin said, and Malfoy nodded.

"And you are...?"

"Marcellus," Merlin said, spouting the first name to come to his mind. He cursed internally as he realized that he'd used that one already. "Marcellus Emrys," he said, stepping aside and gesturing for Lucius to come in.

He realized after letting Lucius in that his house didn't look at all like a normal muggle's house. Potion ingredients and wizarding books dominated the shelves and there were several things that only wizards would have a use for. The only normal place, it seemed, was the living room, as even the kitchen had wizarding utensils that were currently floating around to make his dinner. He chuckled nervously at the gobsmacked expression on Mr. Malfoy's face.

"Aunt Gwen insisted that we get some wizarding technology the first time Uncle Balinor told her. She's been using his wand to manage it ever since," he explained, coming up with a story on the spot. Draco glared at Merlin when he used the name Gwen, obviously not liking his wife's name being in the warlock's explanation. Lucius nodded and seemed to accept this explanation, even though wizarding technology should technically not work for a muggle. He led them to the living room, Lucius sitting on the couch as he stared at the TV.

"I'll get Marlin," Merlin said, running up the stairs and feeling Draco's eyes on him the entire way. He opened the door to his room and cast the aging spell, running back down the stairs and stumbling over his feet as he got used to short legs again. He grinned as he walked into the living room.

"Draco, you're here!" he exclaimed as he walked in. Draco just nodded at him, obviously feeling awkward.

"Marlin," he greeted. Mr. Malfoy was still staring at the TV as if trying to figure out what it did when Merlin walked in, but he smiled as Draco greeted the 'boy.'

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," Merlin said to Draco's father.

"Ah, hello, Marlin. Can you tell me where your cousin got off to?"

Merlin frowned as he thought up an explanation. "Oh, he had to... step out for a moment. Mother should be back soon, though, so..."

Lucius nodded, obviously not pleased with the idea of 'Marcellus' leaving him to take care of 'Marlin.' Merlin grinned at the irony.

"Ah, well, young Draco here was suggesting that we take you to Malfoy Manor to play Quidditch, so I was hoping to talk with him," Lucius said, and Merlin's smile dropped.

"Oh, well, I can call my mum and ask her," Merlin said, and Lucius Malfoy nodded, looking utterly confused.

"You... do that," he said, and Merlin rushed off to get the phone, dialing a random number. He almost sighed in relief as it hit the answering machine.

"Uh, hi, Mum..." Merlin began, letting there be a pause, "Yeah, hey, Mr. Malfoy came over, and he wants to take me to his estate. Is that okay?" another pause, "Yeah, I'll be home before dinner," another pause, and, to make it more realistic, "Mum!"

"Is he talking into that thing?" Draco said in the backround.

"Do not question the ways of muggles, Draco," Lucius answered.

"Okay, thanks, bye!" Merlin eventually said, and hung up. He hoped that he didn't get called back. That would be awkward.

Merlin turned to the Malfoys and grinned. "She says that I can go."

Lucius smiled, though it was strained. "Ah, really? That's good," he said, not sounding sincere at all. He then asked, "Is your house connected to the floo?"

Merlin nodded, "Yeah, it's the only way to keep in touch with the wizarding relatives," he lied, and Malfoy smiled again.

"Well, that makes things easier. Draco had to apparate here," he explained, and Merlin frowned. He didn't want to apparate, but he realized that he had just given Draco the means to appear in his living room whenever he pleased. That might be a little strange.

The group flooed to Malfoy Manor, and Merlin was struck by how dark the place felt as soon as he arrived. The air pulsed with dark magic, and Merlin could tell that several of the artifacts on the shelves were cursed. He shuddered.

"Not used to the floo, eh?" Lucius asked, and Merlin nodded. It would be hard to explain away the fact that he could sense magic.

Draco suddenly grabbed his arm and he jumped. "Come on, Marlin, the Quidditch pitch is this way! You _can_ fly, can't you?" he asked, and Merlin glared at him.

"Of course I can!" he exclaimed, "Living this long and not knowing how to fly! Preposterous!"

Lucius watched them with a curious look on his face as Merlin and Draco headed out to the pitch.

...

From that day on, Marlin decided that the best course of action was casting a glamour on a pot to make it look like his mother and placing it in the kitchen. The pot would do the dishes, and whenever you talked to it, it would say, "Yes, honey." Merlin was glad that the magic of the Old Religion didn't set off the underage magic sensors.

...But, this meant that he would have to stay in kid form most of the time, now. That was the downside.

Draco visited several times throughout the break, most of which alone. When Draco had come just to get away from Malfoy Manor, Merlin took him to the local fencing club. Fortunately, Merlin actually had a chance against Draco after centuries of sword training, and Draco was finding it significantly harder to hurt him with a foil.

When they went to Malfoy Manor, though, Merlin, to his great dismay, found himself playing Quidditch. Draco beat him every time.

Then Christmas came, and Merlin awoke to an owl running into his window. He opened it, and was surprised to see the owl carrying a present. He kept his window open that day, and found three more owls decided to stop by that morning.

After his breakfast, he walked back up the stairs and decided to open his presents. It was the first time in quite a while that he had gotten any from anybody, and he was surprised that he was getting any this year at all. He yawned and opened the one nearest to him, which he guessed was from Hermione.

Sure enough, it was a book, titled _The Rise of Albion_. Merlin chuckled as he opened it- there was the Great Dragoon, staring back at him. He would never understand how the image that people today knew was him as an old man. It contained a card in it that said, _"Figured that this is the closest one to the story you told me. I'm not sure if you've read it, but it's fun to read the different versions."_

He hoped Hermione liked her present- he had put some money on her tab at Flourish and Blott's. He wasn't sure that he knew of any books that she hadn't read. Well, at least any that were new.

He opened the next present, which was a box of chocolate frogs from Harry. He was surprised that Harry sent him anything, but he guessed it was because of the tip he gave him. Merlin opened one of them and popped it into his mouth, scowling as he realized that the card was Morgana.

The next present he opened must have been from Draco, judging by the green and silver wrapping. Merlin opened it quickly to find a broomstick. He opened the note that came with it.

_"Figured you need practice. It's hardly a challenge to beat you anymore._

_Happy Christmas, Merlin._

_Arthur"_

Merlin smiled at the note. He was glad that Draco was getting used to his memories enough to use their real names.

It also filled him with a warm feeling to actually be getting a christmas present from Arthur. During his times in Camelot, Arthur couldn't afford to be seen giving gifts to his servant, and Merlin had thought for a long time that he would never be getting a present from him.

He was glad he wasn't alone anymore.

Merlin moved to the last present, wondering who it was from. He didn't know of anybody else who would send him a present, and he couldn't recognize the loopy scrawl on the package. He hesitated opening it, pulling his wand out and waving it over the package to see if there were any enchantments on it. His wand shuddered as the entire package glowed gold, and Merlin frowned. He hadn't seen a reaction like that in ages.

Deciding to risk it, Merlin ripped open the present when the glow faded, gasping when he saw what lay inside.

There, looking new as ever, was Excalibur.

Merlin gingerly unwrapped the sword, wondering how it had gotten there. Last he knew of it, he had thrown it into the lake of Avalon, and now it was here, right in front of him. Merlin touched the blade, running his finger along the edge and hissing in pain as he cut himself. It was still sharp.

His eyes glowed and the cut on his finger knit itself back together. Then there was a noise downstairs and Merlin quickly covered up the sword and hid it in his trunk. He hurried downstairs, saying, "Gods, Arthur what is it this time?" he asked as he entered the living room to see Draco standing there. The boy glared up at him.

"You know, I don't appreciate having to look up to you," he said, crossing his arms.

Merlin smirked as an idea came to him and his eyes flashed.

"Better?" he asked Draco, who was looking at himself in awe.

The warlock had transfigured him back into Arthur Pendragon, chain mail and all.

Arthur looked at himself for a few shocked moment, then he hit Merlin over the head.

"I didn't mean like that, you idiot!"

Merlin rubbed his head, "Ow, you prat! You want me to change you back, then!"

Arthur's eyes widened, "No, no. That's fine."

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

"Merlin," he said, and Merlin grinned to hear his name coming from those lips again. Then Arthur sighed, "God, you have no idea how good it feels to be back in this body again," he said, and Merlin frowned, crossing his arms.

"I don't, do I? I, who has been stuck in a ten-year old body for the past few months, don't know what it feels like to be back to normal?"

Arthur frowned. "Good point, but I've been stuck as a kid for longer," he said.

"You were used to it when you remembered!" Merlin protested.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur growled.

Merlin grinned.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Just glad to have you back, sire."

There was a silence, and then Merlin said, "So, what did you come here for?"

Arthur straightened up, "Right, I came to thank you for your gift, and to get away from my family."

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "Arthur Pendragon, needing to get away from his family? Do you wish to go on a hunt, sire?"

_"Merlin."_

_"Sire."_

Arthur sighed in exasperation, then continued, "And I figured that I'd invite you for Christmas dinner, as I probably won't get to stay here long."

Merlin frowned, "Why do you need to get away from your family, anyway?"

"Oh, maybe the fact that you didn't send me an official gift? It's all, 'Oh, Draco, I'm sorry Marlin didn't send you anything,' and, 'What kind of a friend is he?' over there, and I'm getting kind of sick of it when you sent me a gift that I couldn't show them."

Merlin sighed, "We wouldn't have this problem if we had stayed at Hogwarts."

Arthur nodded, "Yes, but why did you decide to send me that crown, anyway?"

Merlin shrugged. "It's yours, isn't it? Besides, I'm hoping that I won't need a reminder of you again," he said, and Arthur frowned as he realized what Merlin was implying. He clapped Merlin on the shoulder and smiled, and Merlin forced himself to smile back.

Then Arthur pulled him into a hug, and Merlin stiffened, before relaxing and hugging back.

"You're an idiot, Merlin, but you're a brave idiot," Arthur mumbled, and Merlin chuckled.

"Well, being immortal does that to you," he admitted, and they stood there for a while before Arthur released him.

Merlin sighed, then said, "Well, I'd better change you back before your father comes," he said, and Arthur groaned.

"Do we have to just yet?"

"Arthur, you're acting like a ten-year old."

"Well, maybe because I am one!"

"Well, then," Merlin said, and with a flash of his eyes he turned Arthur back into Draco, who sighed in exasperation. Then Merlin cast his age spell, and he was back to his ten-year old self. He grinned, and just at that moment, Lucius Malfoy stumbled through the fireplace, and Draco looked at him with a look of horror.

That had been close.

"Ah, there you are, son! Now, I told you not to go to Marlin over this..." he trailed off as he saw Merlin's expression.

"I'm sorry I couldn't send a gift, Mr. Malfoy- I was going to send one first thing this morning, since I don't have an owl," Merlin explained, and Lucius' expression turned into one of surprise.

"Really?" he asked, and Merlin nodded.

"Yeah, it's just upstairs," Merlin said, then, as an afterthought, "Wait here," and he ran up the stairs to find a 'gift.' He rummaged through his trunk, looking for something suitable, then had an idea and conjured up fencing equipment with a flash of his eyes. He wrapped it up with magic, then ran back downstairs and handed the gift to Draco.

"Here you go," he said, grinning, and Draco took it with a confused look in Merlin's direction, then tore it open, gaping at what he saw before him.

"It's fencing equipment!" Draco whispered, then looked up. "You didn't have to do this-"

"Yes, I did," Merlin interrupted with a twinkle in his eye, "Besides, you purebloods must get bored with the only sport you play being Quidditch."

Draco gaped, then smiled, "Thanks, Marlin," he said, and Merlin grinned.

Mr. Malfoy put a hand on Draco's shoulder, apparently not as irked at the thought of Draco doing a muggle sport as Merlin had thought. Merlin guessed that was because it was swordplay.

"Well, thank you Marlin, but we must go now," he said, and then Draco's eyes lit up.

"Can he come for dinner, father?" he asked, apparently putting on his best face for his father, as Merlin had never seen Arthur with that expression. Lucius Malfoy smiled fakely.

"If it's okay with his family..." Lucius said, and Merlin grinned.

"Of course it is! Mum'll understand. Can I go to the Malfoys' for dinner, Mum?"

"Yes, honey," said the pot.

"See?" Merlin said, and Lucius looked very strained.

"...And you have dress robes..."

"Oh, I'll go get them!" Merlin said, then ran upstairs and transfigured some muggle clothes into child-sized dress robes with a flash of his eyes. It's not like he thought he would be needing any.

He ran back downstairs, tripping over his feet as he went, and grinned as he saw Lucius Malfoy's gobsmacked expression.

"...Then I suppose I'll see you at five," Lucius Malfoy said, not managing to hide his displeasure.

Merlin's grin grew wider. He wouldn't be spending Christmas alone, after all.

...

"Now, you'd better behave," was one of the first things that Draco said to Merlin after the surprising, "Marlin, you're here!" and, "Yes, father, we'll just go then. Come on, Marlin."

Merlin put on his best innocent face. "Why, me, cause trouble?" he said, mocking hurt. Draco glared at him.

"I mean it, Marlin- there are a lot of important people here, and I want you to show some proper manners."

Merlin grinned, "Oh, don't worry! It's probably just like the old days- minus all the vengeful sorcerers, of course. Though there_ are_ wizards-"

Merlin cut off at Draco's frown.

"Except people might actually talk to you," said Draco, and Merlin had to admit that he was right. He was a guest, not a servant. There was just one thing, though, and Merlin had no problem voicing it.

"Why would they want to talk to a kid?" he asked, and Draco scoffed.

"Don't be stupid, Marlin, you're friends with the son of one of the most important people in the Ministry-"

"Got an ego, have we?"

"-and people will want to know what kind of friends that person keeps, and may use that person."

"So I'm careful," Merlin concluded, grinning, "And you know me- I'm always careful."

"Not necessarily polite, though," said Draco, and Merlin let out an, "Ah."

"Well," he said, "I'm sure I can be careful about that, too."

Then they entered the dining room, and the two became silent, worrying that one of them might slip and say something that they would regret.

Draco sat down at the table by his father, and Merlin stood, partly because he wasn't sure where to sit and was being careful, and partly because his habits as a servant of Camelot were coming back to him. Draco soon became annoyed, and pulled out the chair next to him, raising his eyebrows. Merlin smiled thankfully and sat down.

The two were silent, only speaking when spoken to, and both still worried about slipping up, until Lucius Malfoy got the table's attention and started a speech about how he was glad that they were all there, and that he hoped that they would have a merry Christmas, and stuff that had no real consequence to Merlin. Merlin almost drifted off, but was awoken from his doze as Lucius' speech suddenly ended, and the table got to eating and talking.

Merlin just focused on his food, really wishing that he was in his adult form so he could have some wine, as the tension was getting to him and he was somewhat bored, until somebody spoke to him.

"So, you're a friend of Draco's?" asked the person, who was somewhat drunk and Merlin didn't know the name of. At Merlin's nervous nod, he continued, "What's your name, then?"

"Marlin Emrys, sir," said Merlin nervously, and the man stared.

"You mean that kid that killed the troll at Hogwarts?" he asked, and Merlin stiffened.

"How'd you know that?" he asked tensely, and the man laughed.

"Oh, it was all over the Prophet! Don't tell me you don't get it?"

Merlin just shook his head, thinking that he should probably start a subscription if he was to survive.

"Ah, well, I suppose with all the rumors that would have been spreading, Hogwarts students wouldn't need the Prophet. So, how'd you do it?"

Merlin frowned, thinking up a quick lie. Obviously Dumbledore had filtered out the wandless magic part if this man didn't know- and he decided he would need to thank the warlock for that- so he didn't want to give it away to the world. He thought of a spell a first year would know, and a probable solution.

"A floating charm," said Merlin eventually, "Levitated its club and whacked it on the head."

The man looked surprised, "Blimey, and that cracked its skull, did it? It must've been awfully heavy!"

"I couldn't have lifted it," said Merlin, and then quickly shut his mouth, glad when the man laughed.

"Oh, I bet you couldn't! You're a twig, you are!"

Merlin resented that- he had put on a bit of muscle, even with the age spell.

"Yet you somehow managed to defeat a troll! I suppose strength isn't everything!" the man continued, then offered his hand to shake Merlin's, which was a bad idea as several things on the table were knocked over in a sort of domino effect. The man didn't seem to notice.

"Eric Munch, nice to meet you," he said, and Merlin managed to weave his thin arm between things without knocking them over to shake the man's hand. Unfortunately, the hand-shaking knocked over several more things, though it seemed that the adults were glaring at Eric more than they were glaring at Merlin. Lucius Malfoy was one of them.

"Mr. Munch," he said eventually, waving his wand to clean up the mess. The various plates and bowls straightened out again. "could you please refrain from reaching across the table?"

Eric Munch just laughed, and the rest of the night passed mildly easy, Merlin only getting a few questions from mostly-sober people.

Eventually, it came that Merlin had to leave for home, and he stood outside the Malfoy Manor.

"That was an awful night," said Merlin to Draco, once they were alone, and Draco nodded.

"Not as awful as some of the nights in Camelot, but still pretty bad. Though it is easier now that I remember those awful nights at Camelot." he admitted.

"I just regret that I didn't get to taste the wine- it must be much better than the wine at those awful nights at Camelot."

Draco laughed, "It is."

Merlin gaped, "Hey, you're supposed to be reassuring me here, not making me jealous."

Draco just laughed again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: This is my apology for being late. Don't worry, I didn't type this all up just now. I'm actually three chapters ahead of what I'm posting, so hopefully it doesn't sound rushed.**

**It's kind of short, but it had to end there, as the next chapter is about the dragon, and that needs some revision still.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin _****or ****_Harry Potter._**

Merlin saw Draco several times that break, and he and Merlin ended up fencing in Marlin's house instead of going back to the fencing club. Draco much preferred doing this, as he didn't have to be stared at by Muggles when he was trying to fight. He didn't exactly have Muggle clothes.

Merlin decided that he wouldn't give the sword to Draco yet, because he wasn't sure he was ready. Sure, Arthur had been ready to use the sword, but Draco was still struggling a bit to get his two lives together properly. Besides, at this age, he didn't think Draco could even lift it.

When he looked at the sword again, he found a note in that same loopy writing that said, _"I thought this should be back with it's wielder. Wait until the time is right."_

Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore sent the sword, but he wasn't going to accuse the headmaster until it was absolutely necessary.

But, he was perfectly fine with pushing these thoughts from his head as he got on the train back to Hogwarts.

As soon as they got in their compartment, Draco said, "If we pull the blinds, can you do that spell again? I'm getting sick of being ten."

Merlin laughed. "You wish."

"Oh, come on-"

"Arthur, do you really think I can risk it? Besides, if I'm right, Crabbe and Goyle will be here any minute."

Draco fell silent as he realized that Merlin was probably right.

...

It seems that Harry had been busy over the Christmas holidays. He had been looking up more information about the Sorcerer's Stone during the holidays and apparently had stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised. Merlin had learned this from Hermione in asking how her holidays went.

"Oh, well, they were okay, but not as exciting as Harry's," she had said, and Merlin had raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

These revelations had led to a very curious Merlin, but not a Merlin stupid enough to go looking for the Mirror of Erised in the middle of the night when it had been moved, at least, according to Dumbledore.

It wasn't much of a surprise to Merlin to hear that Snape was refereeing the next match of Quidditch when he had been doing a counter-curse. Unfortunately, this meant that Draco was probably going to drag him out to watch.

Merlin was just glad that he wasn't the one being picked on in potions. It seems that Snape had taken to avoiding him after that last incident, a fact that Hermione and Draco were glad of, as now he wasn't staring at them when they were trying to work.

Then one day Merlin dragged Draco to the library, as he had decided to reopen his searches on reincarnation, and he had run into Hermione, almost literally, as he was too busy dragging a protesting Draco to the library to look where he was going, and she was too busy carrying tons of books. Fortunately, at the last moment, he looked in front of him to see Hermione standing there, and stopped. Unfortunately, this gave Draco a chance to wrench himself from Merlin's grip.

"Uh, hi," she had said, eyeing Draco as he rubbed his arm.

Merlin looked at her armload of books, "Hi," he said eventually, "What are you doing here?"

Hermione seemed to perk up at the chance to talk about what she was researching. "Oh, I've got all these books on immortality to further investigate the Stone! It's quite fascinating, you know!"

Merlin looked at her books, "Then why is there one on reincarnation in there?" Merlin asked, getting a little suspicious. Hermione wasn't even phased.

"Oh, well, I figured that there might be something in there about the stone as well, since the few books I've read on the subject had brief mentions of immortality," she explained. Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Really. You wouldn't happen to be able to recommend any books on that subject, would you?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Oh, just curious."

And, so, Hermione and Merlin ended up going to the library together to read up on immortality and reincarnation, Merlin dragging Draco along for the ride, much to his dismay. Merlin found absolutely nothing beyond theory on reincarnation, and Hermione found nothing on the Stone, but did find something on Merlin.

"Ooh!" she cried out one day. "Look, here, Marlin! It mentions Merlin!"

So Merlin read:

_"There have been rumors that Merlin was immortal."_

That was all that it said, and Merlin scoffed.

"As if! You'd think he'd get in touch with his family if he was!" Merlin exclaimed, though his indignant attitude was more towards the fact that there was a mention of him in one of those books.

...

Eventually the Quidditch match came, and Harry and his friends seemed very worried over whether the boy would survive or not. Marlin ran into him on the way to the pitch, his head hung.

"Cheer up, Harry!" he exclaimed when the boy muttered a 'hello' to him, "I think somebody would notice if Snape were chanting the entire match."

Harry seemed to think that over as he headed to the pitch.

...

Draco was being dragged by Merlin again.

Merlin had decided that there wasn't a good enough view of Quirrell from where the Slytherins were, so he decided to join the Gryffindors. Draco had wanted to stay with the Slytherins, but Merlin decided that the boy needed to start getting along with the Gryffindors.

Crabbe and Goyle started following, but Merlin told them to 'stay,' and they obeyed like the dogs they were.

"It's surprising that you're not a Gryffindor yourself," Merlin said, "You're probably only a Slytherin because you were sorted before you had the chance to remember properly."

"Why would I want to be a bloody Gryffindor?" Draco exclaimed, scaring the Hufflepuffs that Merlin was dragging him through.

Eventually, Draco got sick of being dragged, and said, "That's enough! I'll walk!" and Merlin released him. He didn't run away, and actually followed Merlin, so Merlin figured that he was making progress.

They made it to the Gryffindors, and Hermione greeted Merlin.

"Oh, hey, Marlin!" she said, somewhat subdued, "Decided to join us?"

Then Ron spotted Malfoy, and growled, "Too bad he brought someone with him."

Malfoy scowled, but kept his tongue, and Merlin decided that he was definitely making progress. Ron seemed to think it was very surprising that he was keeping silent.

The game passed in silence, Merlin deciding to watch Harry as he was still confused by the rest of the game. The silence was awkward, to say the least, and wasn't broken until Hermione shouted, "Ron! Harry-!"

"What? Where?" Ron shouted stupidly.

Harry had gone into a dive, and Hermione was shouting, "Come on, Harry!"

Then Harry zoomed past Snape and held up the Snitch, and everybody cheered.

Except Malfoy, but Merlin figured that he was coming along nicely.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: Okay, I've proofread twice, and rewritten the parts I didn't like, and I think I'm satisfied with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy, as it was really hard to write.**

**This is going to be in two or three parts, as I'm not very far ahead in writing anymore and I've been slacking and writing other nonsense and life has been hectic. I'm only really posting because I've written it already, and I'm late on all my other stories.**

**Anyway, I'm rambling. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin _****or****_ Harry Potter._**

Finals were coming up, and Merlin was probably the only person not studying.

That is, until Hermione forced him to.

One day, at breakfast, Hermione had come over to the Slytherin table, reprimanded Merlin about not studying, and practically dragged him by the ear to the library. Merlin had been forced to go to the library every day since, and Draco had eventually gotten bored and decided to join him. This led to the library being a lot more quiet than it would have been, as nobody dared to break the silence. Eventually, though, Ron snapped, and the silence was ruined.

"I'll never remember this!" he exclaimed, looking out the window wistfully. Merlin had to admit that the weather was nice, but he was forced into studying with Hermione, and he wondered why Draco was staying cooped up in the library with how nice it was out.

Merlin turned back to his notes, until he heard Ron exclaim, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Merlin looked up to see the giant that had led them to the boats. He instantly decided that whatever this giant was doing was more interesting than his notes, and Draco obviously agreed, seeing as he looked up as well.

"Jus' lookin'," he said shiftily, eyeing Marlin and Draco warily. He turned towards Harry. "An' what're you lot up ter?" he asked, then in a lower voice, which Merlin could still hear, anyway, "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said, "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St-"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid and Merlin both said at once. The giant turned to Merlin in confusion, and the warlock smiled sheepishly. Hagrid turned back to Harry. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh? And how do_ you_ know?" Hagrid whirled on Merlin, almost knocking over the table.

"Oh, he's the one who figured it out," Ron said. Hagrid looked between the two boys, shocked. Harry chose that moment to intervene.

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact, about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy-"

"SHHHH!" shouted Hagrid, turning back to Harry. "Listen- come and see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh-"

"See you later, then," Harry said, and Hagrid left.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked as soon as he had gone.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in." Ron hurried off, coming back with a pile of books.

"Dragons!" Ron exclaimed, and Draco jumped. Merlin raised an eyebrow at him, but he just snorted and waved the unspoken question off. Ron looked at the two curiously before continuing, "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry explained.

Merlin frowned. Dragons weren't pets!

"But it's against our laws. Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden- anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's gotten off of wild ones in Romania."

"Can't dragonlords tame dragons?" Merlin asked Ron, and the boy scoffed.

"Dragonlords are just a myth. Besides, even if they were real, they died off ages ago."

Merlin smirked.

...

Merlin decided not to go to Hagrid's hut with Harry, but abruptly changed his mind when he heard Ron talking about it during breakfast one day.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" Ron said, and Draco stopped abruptly, looking at Merlin.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-"

"Shut up!" Harry hissed, noticing 'Marlin' and Draco listening. The three looked at them, and Merlin grabbed Draco's arm and led him out of the Great Hall.

Once they were outside, Merlin stopped.

"What are you going to do?" Draco asked Merlin. Merlin shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll probably sneak out to make sure Hagrid doesn't burn his house down," Merlin said.

Draco looked somewhat upset. "Oh, no you don't. You're not sneaking out- not without me."

Merlin gaped, then smirked. "Arthur Pendragon, wanting to see a baby dragon? Why, I-"

"Shut up, Merlin!" Draco growled, then, after a thought, "Should I make sure that Potter doesn't get hurt watching the dragon hatch?"

Merlin chuckled, "You just want to see the dragon hatch yourself!" he said, and Draco glared indignantly.

"I do not!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms.

Merlin laughed some more, then shook his head, "No, baby dragons are relatively harmless. He won't be taking their heads off just yet," Merlin said, and Draco frowned.

"Relatively harmless?"

"Hey, at least the ones I've hatched, okay?" Merlin said, "Maybe the new dragons are different, but hatching dragons hasn't killed me yet."

...

Thus it was that Merlin and Draco snuck out of their dorms at midnight, slipping through the common room. Merlin pulled Draco into an alcove, removing the age spell from himself and transfiguring Draco back into Arthur Pendragon- without the chain mail, this time. Draco yelped as he was transformed, then glared at Merlin.

"You could have warned me, you know," he stated, and Merlin grinned.

"Well, we don't want to be caught, do we?" Merlin said.

"So you're making us larger? How does that work?"

Merlin grinned and slipped out of the alcove, Arthur stumbling behind him as he got used to his new legs. They continued back down the hall.

...And ran right into Severus Snape.

The potion's professor stared at Merlin and Arthur with wide eyes, then abruptly whirled around and stalked off without saying a word.

Merlin sighed in relief as he realized that they weren't getting punished, and Arthur stared at him. Merlin waved off the unspoken question and the two continued, making it through the rest of the castle without any problems.

Once they were outside, Arthur decided it was safe to speak.

"So, Merlin, what exactly do you plan on doing?" he asked, and Merlin grinned.

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" he said, and Arthur frowned at his words.

The two headed in silence to Hagrid's hut, and Merlin rapped on the door once they arrived. There was mumbling from inside and then Hagrid opened the door with a crossbow in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw Merlin and Arthur and he backed up and pointed the crossbow at them.

"Who are yeh?" he exclaimed, looking between the two. "What do yeh wan'?"

Merlin grinned, then said, "Well-"

Then the baby dragon scampered around Hagrid and jumped at Merlin, barrelling him over. Merlin let out a yelp and fell to the ground as the dragon butted its head against Merlin's chest, letting out squeaks of joy. Arthur watched as Merlin struggled to get the dragon off of him with a look of amusement.

Hagrid's eyes were wide. "Wot's that dragon doing?" then his eyes got even wider as he seemed to come to a realization.

"Yer a dragonlord! That's why the dragon likes yeh!"

Merlin finally managed to get the dragon off of him and stood up as the dragon rubbed itself against Merlin's legs like a cat. "Yeah-" he said, but was cut off by Hagrid.

"Yer not from the Ministry, are yeh?" he asked, panicking a bit. Merlin shook his head.

"No-" he said, but Hagrid interrupted him again.

"Blimey, a dragonlord! At me hut! Wot did yeh say yer name was again?"

"Marcellus," said Merlin, holding his hand. Hagrid shook his arm, and Merlin was momentarily incapable of speaking, as his body was being jerked up and down by the force of Hagrid's handshake. Eventually Hagrid ceased his shaking and Merlin pulled his arm from the giant's grip, rubbing it in pain. Arthur watched these proceedings with an amused expression.

"Well," Merlin said eventually. Hagrid was standing there with a starstruck look on his face. "I just came to make sure you wouldn't burn your house down. May I...?"

Hagrid jumped to attention, motioning for Merlin to go inside. "O' course! Come in!"

Merlin stepped inside the hut, and was immediately struck by how cluttered it was. There was rubbish _everywhere_- animal traps, dead animals for feeding magical creatures, and some magical creatures themselves. The dragon plodded after Merlin faithfully as he entered, looking at him as if to gauge his approval. Hagrid was looking at him the same way.

Merlin frowned, and both dragon and giant seemed to take that as a bad thing.

Then Merlin said, "You know you have a wooden house, right?" and Hagrid's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Yeah, but 'e hasn't been breathin' _too_ much fire," Hagrid said.

"Still, I'd like to put up some wards," Merlin said. He figured if the dragon was spewing fire day and night, it still wouldn't be too much fire in Hagrid's eye. Hagrid nodded his assent and Merlin began placing the wards, the giant watching with fascination and jumping back when he saw Merlin's eyes glow. Arthur chuckled at the giant's reaction, and Hagrid then noticed his presence.

"And who are yeh? Yer Marcellus' friend?" he asked. Arthur nodded.

"Yes, I'm Dr- Arthur," said Arthur, and Hagrid took his hand, grinning. Merlin watched Hagrid shaking Arthur with amusement and gold fading from his eyes as he finished.

"Well, that's done," he said, startling Hagrid. The giant shifted his gaze back to Merlin. "I suppose you know how to take care of him?"

Hagrid looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on him. "Oh! Yes- feed him a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour, righ'?"

Merlin nodded, "Yes," he said, then had an idea. He wondered if Aithusa would be willing to take a baby dragon. "Listen, once he's gotten big enough, I'm thinking I could call another dragon to look after him."

Hagrid's eyes widened. He obviously didn't want to part with the dragon. "Bu'-"

"You might be able to see him again," Merlin intervened, "If Aithusa doesn't have a brood of her own, I can ask her to stay in the Forbidden Forest so you can see him. That is, if she agrees."

Hagrid's eyes lit up at this, "Really?" He grinned at Merlin's nod, then got a confused look on his face. "Who's 'Aithusa?'"

"A dragon of the Old Religion," Merlin said, not expecting Hagrid to understand what he said. Most information about the Old Religion had been lost, and Merlin had personally destroyed all memory of the darker rituals himself. After experiencing most of them, he figured he'd better save future generations from the trouble.

Unfortunately, the information about dragons had apparently not been lost, as Hagrid grew excited at this information.

"Really? I didn' know they still existed!"

Merlin smiled a bit. Apparently there wasn't too much information about them left. "No, they live for a very long time, and only a dragonlord's magic or a sword forged in dragon breath can kill them. They live in seclusion, and I don't think the ministry would be able to tell an Old dragon from a New one, as long as they kept their tongue," Merlin chuckled, remembering Kilgharrah's chatty ways. He missed his old friend.

Hagrid grew even more excited, and Merlin frowned as he realized that he was going to be bombarded with questions if he didn't say something to stop him.

"Look, I know you're curious, but we really should get back to business," Merlin said as soon as the giant opened his mouth, and he shut it quickly, nodding.

"So, you'll contact me when he's big enough?" Merlin asked. Hagrid nodded, then looked confused.

"How will I contact yeh?"

Merlin opened his mouth to reply, then realized that he didn't have an answer. He closed it and thought for a second. Then an idea came to him.

"I'll scry every day and check on you," he said, wondering how he was going to sneak a scrying bowl past his roommates. "When I decide that he's big enough to travel, I'll owl you."

Hagrid seemed to think this idea over, then nodded. "Okay, then."

Merlin nodded, then turned to Arthur. "Well, we've got a dragon to see, don't we?" he said, and Arthur frowned.

"Tonight?"

Merlin crossed his arms. "Yes, tonight! I need to see if she'll agree to what we have planned!"

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, then closed it and nodded. Merlin turned to Hagrid.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, then," he said to the giant, who was still looking a bit shocked. Hagrid just nodded, and they left the house.

Merlin turned to Arthur once they were outside, and grinned.

"Well, we've got a dragon to see."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Okay, first I'd like to say thank you for the feedback, as I haven't said that lately, and, secondly, I would like to remind you that this is in an alternate universe starting at the end of season 4, as season 5 was way too sad for me. Thirdly, if you see any mistakes, please tell me, because my spell check is saying that I spell everything wrong.**

**Lastly, sorry that I didn't post this earlier. I'm kind of in a rut with my writing, and this is really the only story that I have chapters written for.**

**Anyway, I'm not going to complain about that here. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or ****_Harry Potter._**

Merlin stood in the clearing, listening to the sound of wingbeats as Aithusa descended from the sky. The dragon stood out against the dark sky, and Merlin hoped that nobody was watching from Hogwarts at the moment.

"Merlin," she greeted as she landed, rubbing her head up against the warlock. Merlin stumbled a bit, but patted the dragon's head and chuckled.

"Aithusa," he said, "Long time."

Aithusa withdrew her head and nodded. "I have not seen you since you went to Hogwarts. Why do you call me now?" she asked. Merlin grinned.

"I need a favor," he said, and Aithusa cocked her head as Merlin continued, "It seems our gamekeeper has gotten a hold of a dragon egg."

Aithusa snorted. "When will these humans learn that we are not pets? I assume you want me to take care of this egg," she said.

"Not quite," Merlin said. AIthusa looked confused. "He's already hatched, so I was wondering if you could look after him for a while. Just until he's able to take care of himself," Merlin continued at Aithusa's indignant look. The dragon sighed.

"It isn't an Old dragon, is it?" she asked, her eyes glistening with annoyance. Merlin shook his head, and she sighed. "You know how we feel about those beasts, Merlin."

Merlin sighed. "I know, but I figured that you're the only dragon I know who would take on the task. Hagrid could get into a lot of trouble for owning a dragon-"

"Rightly so."

"-and it's always been his dream to own one-"

"We are not pets."

"-so I figured that you could stay here and watch over him, and then Hagrid could see him every once and a while and he'd be getting the care that he needs. Plus, I could come and visit you," Merlin finished, knowing that Aithusa wouldn't refuse him. He wasn't going to order her to watch over the baby, but he knew she wouldn't be able to resist the prospect of being able to see Merlin more often. They had grown awfully attached after Kilgharrah's death, and Aithusa seemed to enjoy the bond they had as the last alive from their time. Merlin also had to admit that he liked having somebody to talk about the old days with, even if their rendition involved Morgana.

Aithusa had helped Morgana in her youth, and the two had a bond of sorts, but Kilgharrah had eventually managed to talk the fledgeling out of helping her in the end. Aithusa had felt bitter towards both Kilgharrah and Merlin after that, but after seeing some of the evil that Morgana did, she agreed not to go back to her, and the bitterness disappeared.

Eventually, she took Kilgharrah as a mate, and the dragons came back from near-extinction, though they still took to hiding from human eyes. Then the New dragons came, and Aithusa and her kin only had to keep quiet to remain unnoticed by humans.

Just as Merlin expected, Aithusa sighed and said, "I have no brood now, so I suppose I can take care of the youngling. You owe me for this, Merlin," she said as Merlin sighed in relief. Merlin just nodded and grinned.

Then Aithusa noticed Arthur and started.

"Arthur Pendragon? You have found him?" she asked Merlin, eyeing the figure in front of her. Merlin grinned even more.

"Yeah, but this is just a transfiguration so we can walk around unnoticed. His name's really Draco Malfoy," Merlin explained, and removed the spell, making Arthur stumble and glare at him.

"_Mer_lin, I told you to warn me!" he exclaimed. Merlin shrugged and put the spell back on, causing Arthur to glare even more.

Aithusa chuckled, smiling her big, dragon smile. "I am happy for you, Merlin," she said, "Gods know you were awfully lonely without him." Arthur's glare turned into a stare at these words. Merlin ignored him, although his ears were turning red under the old king's gaze.

"Well, I'll call you when the baby is old enough to travel," Merlin said, and Aithusa nodded.

"I will see you then," she said, and then bowed before taking off, her white bright against the black sky.

Merlin turned to Arthur. "Well, we'd better get back if we're going to get any sleep," he said, then noticed the sun peeking over the horizon.

"Too late," Arthur sighed.

...

Merlin was finding that scrying was awfully hard in pumpkin juice. Especially when one was tired.

That is why Merlin had taken to drinking water for breakfast instead, and he got several weird looks when somebody saw him scrying. It was awfully strange to be staring into your water glass intently and mumbling a spell under your breath. He was just glad he had learned how to scry during his long life. It certainly came in handy, no matter how strange you looked.

Fortunately, Draco scared away all the students that tried to look in his water to see what he was staring at.

Unfortunately, he couldn't scare away teachers.

That was how Professor Trelawney just happened to pass the Slytherin table, see Merlin looking into his glass, peek over his shoulder with no resistance, and say something that everyone in the hall probably heard.

Merlin was just considering sending Hagrid an owl to inform him that the dragon was big enough when she exclaimed, "Ah! A dragon!"

The hall suddenly went silent and Merlin jumped at the sudden noise, breaking the spell and trying to look innocent as he looked at Professor Trelawney. The teacher looked spooked, and turned to Merlin with a sort of reverence.

"Yes?" he asked, thinking that maybe he should have risked the scrying bowl in his dorm. Trelawney looked at him with wide eyes.

"You are scrying!" she exclaimed. Most everybody at the school was looking at the Slytherin table now.

Merlin didn't really see how he could deny it, as he had obviously been muttering a spell, so he nodded. Professor Trelawney's eyes lit up.

"Ah, I see! You have the inner eye, boy, but you are doing it wrong! You are scrying for the present!"

Merlin bit back a '_That was the point_,' and said, "What do you mean, Professor?"

Professor Trelawney smiled at his supposed innocence, and Merlin had to try to keep himself from frowning.

"My dear," she started, and it became very hard for Merlin to not look annoyed, "You are scrying for the present when your intent is the future. You must alter the spell," she said.

"How?" Merlin asked, keeping up his curious expression. He just hoped that nobody knew where he was scrying- it wouldn't do for Hagrid to be caught when he intended to give the dragon to Aithusa that very night.

Trelawney opened her mouth, then seemed to have a thought and creased her eyebrows. She looked at Merlin. "Well, I don't know what type of magic you're using, boy. I can't exactly tell you how to fix the spell if I don't know it, can I?"

Merlin just smiled innocently. Trelawney gaped.

"Do you know what you were doing, boy?" she asked. Merlin really was getting tired of being called 'boy.'

"No, I was just reciting something I read out of a book," he said, deciding that he shouldn't clarify. Unfortunately, Trelawney persisted.

"What were you chanting?" she asked. Merlin's lips twitched downwards.

"_Fultume me_, over and over," he said, though the real spell he used was much more complex. Trelawney looked confused, and Merlin was glad that there was so much lost about the Old Religion.

She eventually patted him on the shoulder, though, and said, "I would expect no less from Merlin's descendant. Do be sure to take divination- it would be a shame to let your powers go untrained."

Merlin bit back another retort and nodded, watching her as she walked away.

He decided that he should probably use the room of requirement to scry from then on, as everybody was trying to look in his water glass when they passed him now.

He could feel the school's gazes on his back, and he turned to Draco to ignore them, saying, "Hey, Draco, could I borrow your owl?"

...

Merlin knocked on the door to Hagrid's hut, sending Arthur a glance as he did so. He didn't know why the prat had insisted on coming, but he knew better than to refuse him. He didn't want to get into another fight with him.

Hagrid opened the door to his hut, and as soon as the door was open, the dragon came barrelling out and knocked Merlin over. Considering the dragon's size, this drew a very loud "Oomph!" from Merlin as he hit the ground, struggling to push the dragon off of him. Arthur, (and Hagrid, for some reason,) watched with amusement.

Merlin finally managed to get the dragon off of him and sat up.

"Um, hi," he said eventually. Hagrid straightened up as he addressed him.

"Marcellus," the giant greeted, then looked around. "Where's this dragon you were talking about?"

Merlin stood up, stumbling as the dragon butted his head against his legs. "I have to call her," he explained after reprimanding the dragon in the dragon tongue. Said dragon was now sitting down, looking guilty. "We have to head to the Forbidden Forest for me to do that," Merlin finished as Hagrid opened his mouth to ask a question. The giant shut his mouth and nodded.

"Alrigh', then," he said, and started walking towards the Forbidden Forest, "Let's go."

Merlin commanded the dragon to follow him, and he nodded. Merlin was glad that baby New dragons were easier to command than the adults, as he didn't have to tell the dragon three times before it listened.

The group headed off to the Forbidden Forest, sticking to the shadows on Merlin's command so that nobody saw the black dragon following them. Occasionally, 'Norbert,' as Hagrid had named him, chased after a butterfly like a dog and Merlin had to call him back before somebody saw him.

They made it to the clearing without being spotted, though, and Aithusa flew down into the clearing when Merlin called her.

"Marcellus," she greeted when she landed, sounding perturbed at having to call Merlin by his chosen name, as his orders said. Hagrid looked at her with almost as much awe as Norbert.

"Aithusa," Merlin greeted back. Norbert walked forward towards the larger dragon, and Aithusa looked at him with a little trepidation.

"This is the youngling?" she asked, and Merlin nodded.

"Yes," he said, and then chuckled as Norbert bounded forward and rubbed his head against Aithusa's leg. Aithusa looked at the baby with surprise.

"I think he thinks you're his mother," Merlin said, and Aithusa scoffed even as she rubbed her head against the baby's.

"As if. I doubt that this dragon will ever be able to speak. What is his name?"

"Norbert," Hagrid managed to croak out, still looking at Aithusa with awe. The dragon turned to him.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Hagrid," the giant managed to say, though he looked shocked to be addressed by the dragon. Aithusa nodded.

"You are the gamekeeper at Hogwarts?" Hagrid didn't manage to speak, but he nodded, and Aithusa continued, "You should know that dragon's aren't pets, Hagrid," as she fussed over the baby.

Merlin chuckled at her show of affection, and Aithusa looked up to glare at him.

"What?" she snapped, scaring the baby a bit. She wrapped her wing around Norbert to calm him, and Merlin chuckled again.

"For a while there I was worried that you wouldn't treat him like another dragon, but it seems I've been proved wrong," Merlin stated, and Aithusa looked indignant.

"No matter how stupid this beast is, he is still a dragon! He reminds me of one of my own kin, though I doubt he is as intelligent," Aithusa said, and Norbert crooned, rubbing against her wings. Aithusa lay down on the ground and rubbed her muzzle against Norbert.

Hagrid's grin almost split his face.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: Okay, I'm not sure about this chapter, but I can't think of any other way to write it, so, here you go.**

**Sorry if it's kind of short.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin _****or ****_Harry Potter._**

Harry was surprised to see Hagrid's hut short one dragon. He was even more surprised at the giant's explanation, which was given with a shifty look and a wide grin, two expressions that Harry didn't know could coexist.

"Oh, a dragonlord came and offered to call one o' them Old dragons to take care o' Norbert. They're in the Forbidden Forest righ' now."

Hermione was the only one who understood that statement, and she looked absolutely flabbergasted.

_"What?"_ was all she managed to get out, even understanding that statement.

"Come again?" Ron asked after Hermione, barely managing to catch the dragonlord part.

Hagrid shifted a little and repeated himself.

"But what does that mean?" Harry asked, and Hermione turned to him with an excited and flustered look about her.

"A dragonlord is somebody who can tame dragons by speaking to them. It's an ability passed from father to son through death," she explained, and Harry nodded, though Ron looked confused.

"They're just a myth, though!" he exclaimed, and Hermione looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"They existed once! I've read about them!"

Ron glared at Hermione, and Harry, sensing the beginning of a row, intervened.

"What are Old dragons, then?"

Hermione looked to Harry and seemed to lose her anger at the prospect of being able to explain something. "Old dragons are dragons that are capable of speech. They're supposed to be from something called the Old Religion, though there isn't much known about it or them. They were supposed to have died out or gone into hiding."

"Well, they aren' dead, that's fer sure," Hagrid said, "Aithusa's jus' in the Forbidden Forest."

"Aithusa?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she's the dragon takin' care of Norbert," Hagrid explained.

Hermione became even more excited. "You mean there's an Old dragon that close to Hogwarts?" she breathed, almost bouncing up and down with excitement, "Can you show us?"

Hagrid frowned, "An' take three firs' years into the Forbidden Forest? I'll save that for when you three get detention."

Harry silently resolved to not get detention, if that's what it meant.

Unfortunately, Ron seemed to have other ideas.

"Oh, come on, Hagrid! Imagine what I could tell Charlie!" he begged.

"I said no, and that's final!" Hagrid answered, and shooed them out of his hut.

And as Hermione and Ron exchanged a silent look with sparkling eyes, Harry realized that he would probably be going into the Forbidden Forest whether he got detention or not.

...

It was three days since Merlin had taken Norbert to live with Aithusa, and he was tired.

Aithusa had made a point of making a racket in Merlin's head if he didn't visit her, and, so, he had taken to sneaking out every night to see her and have a chat. Draco didn't join him, vetoing the idea in favor of sleep and homework, and Merlin found himself doing his class work in Aithusa's clearing while chatting to a dragon.

Unfortunately, Aithusa had taken to calling him in the middle of the night.

It was thus that Merlin woke up to a voice shouting in his mind.

"Merlin! Come! Problem!" she said shortly, then her presence left his mind. Merlin attempted to communicate with her to ask her what was wrong, but she was occupied, and Merlin sleepily got out of bed to sneak into the Forbidden Forest.

...

Merlin entered the clearing, and gasped at what he saw in front of him.

There, in front of him, lay a dead unicorn. Merlin ran forward to the unicorn's side, checking it for a pulse, but stopped as Aithusa shook her head sadly.

"She's been dead for a while now," the dragon said, "I can't save her, though I do wonder what killed her."

"Did you find her here?" Merlin asked, looking over the unicorn. It looked pale, drained of the silvery blood that ran through it's veins. Aithusa shook her head.

"I was hunting for Norbert, and I found her West from here. Just follow the trail of blood," she said, and Merlin nodded, then looked at the wounds that the unicorn had.

"What could be so stupid to kill a Unicorn?" he asked himself, thinking of what had happened the first time he saw a unicorn killed.

Then there was a small gasp from behind him, and he whirled around to see... nothing. He tensed, holding out his hand, and Aithusa readied herself.

"Show yourself," Merlin said, glad that he had removed the age spell. The air shimmered, and a cloak dropped to the ground to show Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron behind her, all three looking frightened. Merlin relaxed.

"What are you three doing here?" Merlin asked, and Aithusa relaxed, curling around a now awake Norbert. Hermione looked nervous.

"W-we wanted to see the dragon!" she explained, looking at Merlin with wide eyes.

Aithusa huffed, "Well, you've seen her. Now get back to the castle, it's dangerous around here."

Hermione and Ron gaped at the talking dragon, then Hermione stiffened.

"No," she said, looking determined. "We want to know why there's a dead unicorn. Did you kill it?" she asked, looking accusingly at Merlin. Merlin scoffed.

"Of course not! I'm not stupid enough to incite a curse like that!" Merlin said, crossing his arms.

Hermione frowned, but didn't ask about the curse, instead asking, "Then who did?"

Merlin frowned. "I don't know. I'll be looking into it," he said, "Now head back to the castle," he ordered, and held a hand up when Hermione went to object. "You wouldn't want to get detention, would you?" he asked.

Hermione shut her mouth, but she looked worried. Ron seemed to voice her thoughts.

"What if we get attacked, though? There's something killing unicorns out there- wouldn't it like a couple of Hogwarts students?" he said. Merlin thought for a moment, then sighed.

"I suppose you're right. I'll escort you," he said, then started walking. When the group didn't follow, he turned to look at them. "Come on, then."

The group reluctantly followed, and they stayed in uneasy silence until Hermione decided to ask, "Who are you, anyway?"

Merlin frowned, then said, "Marcellus Emeric," deciding that it wouldn't do for the trio to have met 'Marlin's' cousin.

"Are you a dragonlord, then?" Ron asked. Merlin nodded.

"Why are you bothering with Hagrid, though?" Harry asked, and Merlin frowned. That would be harder to answer. He quickly thought up a story, silently hating all the lies that he had to tell recently.

"I'm friends with Draco Malfoy's father, and Draco sent me a letter when he heard you three talking about the dragon," Merlin explained, then decided that he still had to keep Draco in character and smiled as he explained, "Said that he didn't want to have a dragon roaming unchecked at Hogwarts."

Ron seemed to have a lower opinion of him at this statement. "Do you work at the ministry, then?" he asked, and Merlin shook his head.

"No, I'm a... librarian," he said, going with the job that he had taken last. Then he decided that he'd better add on, "Just got fired recently, though. Apparently you should never give the Monster Book of Monsters to somebody without stroking the spine," he said, grinning, "And if you do, make sure it's closed."

The three apparently didn't get the joke, but Merlin really didn't care that much.

There was a silence as they continued to walk, and then Merlin stumbled as he sensed something dark. He held his hand out to stop the children and the three eyed him, confused, before they saw movement in front of them and the sound of a cloak trailing on the ground. The movement stopped for a moment, and then continued. Merlin felt the presence vanish, and he motioned for the group to continue forward. He held a finger to his lips, though he doubted that they could see it, though they seemed to get the message and stayed silent as they continued onward.

The silence was eventually broken by a stumbling sound, and Merlin held his hand out, preparing a spell. Hermione was unable to contain a gasp as an injured unicorn stumbled out from the trees. Merlin lowered his hand as the unicorn stopped in front of them, and rushed to its side as it fell to the ground, looking over the beast's injuries.

Hermione stumbled to his side. "Can you cure it?" she whispered, looking down at the unicorn with sadness. Merlin looked at the wound, and nodded, then gasped as the dark feeling from before returned.

He pulled the three behind a tree as the cloaked figure moved back into the clearing, gliding to the side of the unicorn and drinking the blood from the wound. Merlin had to resist the urge to gag.

"What's it doing?" hissed Hermione in horror.

Merlin shushed her, but it was too late.

The creature whirled around to face them, and Harry put a hand to his head and cried out. Merlin turned to look at him quickly, then turned back to the creature.

"Stay back," he said, but the figure kept moving. Ron let out a squeak of fear.

"I'm warning you." Merlin held out his hand, preparing a spell. when he heard the sound of hoofbeats. A centaur burst into the clearing, and Merlin took his chance and called out, "Run!" as the cloaked figure was distracted. Ron and Hermione took off, but Harry just stumbled, holding his head. The two hesitated when they saw Harry's pain.

"I'll stay, just go!" yelled Merlin as he saw them stop, and they nodded and ran. Merlin turned around and stood in front of Harry, shielding him as the shadow fled from the centaur.

Then the centaur saw Merlin, and let out an astonished, "Emrys!" He started to bow, but Merlin shook his head.

"No, no, that's okay, get up," said Merlin, panicking a little and hoping that Harry's head still hurt too much for him to have seen that.

Fortunately, it took Harry a minute to recover from the pain, and Merlin was able to tell the centaur- Firenze- to keep his identity secret.

Then Harry's pain seemed to leave, and he looked up at Merlin and Firenze.

"Are you all right?" asked the centaur as he helped Harry up, and Harry nodded.

"Yes- thank you- what was that?"

Firenze didn't answer, but Merlin figured that it would be better if Harry knew and wasn't coming up with wild theories.

Then again, telling Harry that Voldemort had come back to haunt him would bring more questions than answers.

Of course, Harry would get into too much trouble anyway, wouldn't he?

"The Dark Lord- or at least one of his followers," said Merlin, and Harry gaped.

"What- that's- How?" Harry asked, and Merlin frowned.

"I'm not sure."

And he wasn't. Not completely.

Harry gaped, but didn't say anything as he took in that information. Then Firenze spoke.

"You had better get back to Hogwarts. The forest is not safe at this time- especially for you."

Firenze almost offered to let Harry ride, but Merlin stopped him, knowing the pride of centaurs.

"I will escort him," he said.

Firenze nodded, "Of course, my lord."

Harry stared at the centaur, but Merlin called, "Harry," and Harry rushed to catch up with him.

"Why'd he call you 'my lord?'" asked Harry as they were walking.

Merlin shrugged, "Oh, it's the dragonlord title. Centaurs respect it."

Harry said, "Oh," and there was a silence. Then Harry said, "How'd you know it was Voldemort?"

Merlin just shrugged again, knowing that the truth wouldn't hurt this time. "I could sense it," he explained, and Harry frowned.

"How?" he asked.

"Oh, dark magic gives out an aura that some people can sense, and if you use it enough, it sticks to you. Not to mention how you were holding your forehead," he explained, then smiled bitterly. "Voldemort probably used more dark magic than Morgana."

Harry nodded, looking thoughtful, and Merlin was suddenly reminded that 'Marlin' could sense dark magic, too.

Ah, well, it was to be expected of_ Merlin's_ descendant, wasn't it?


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Okay, it is not entirely my fault that this is so late. I have summer school, and things aren't really working out, as my online school is using the summer people as a beta for their new program, and it's not really working very well. I also have a block.**

**But I'm sure you don't care and just want to read the chapter and listen to me groan about how it isn't very good because I have low self esteem. Saying that, this chapter isn't very good in my eyes, but it's mostly filler. It's also short. I'm sorry, but life gets in the way of fanfiction.**

**Also, please don't ask me when the next chapter's coming up. I don't know. But I can tell you that it'll be long and will probably be the second-to-last chapter in book one.**

**Anyway, sorry for the delay, and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or ****_Harry Potter_****.**

Marlin was studying with Ron, Hermione, and Draco Malfoy, for some strange reason, when Harry finally asked the question that had been bothering him. Fortunately, as Ron and Hermione were currently _chatting away_ about the dragon instead of studying, the only person to hear was Draco Malfoy, and Harry didn't care about his opinion.

"So," said Harry to Marlin, who looked up from glaring at Hermione and Ron and apparently willing them to be quiet, "You can sense dark magic?"

Marlin stared. It seemed to Harry that he hadn't been expecting that question.

"Yeah," said Marlin after a pause, "You mean you can't?"

Harry got the distinct impression that that question was faked, but Marlin seemed interested, so he didn't know why he thought he was lying.

Harry didn't think he could sense dark magic, but what had that pain the other night been, then?

"...Certain types," Harry decided, thinking that Voldemort counted as certain types.

Merlin nodded, then turned back to his book. "I figured, since..."

He trailed off, but it was obvious what he had been implying. Harry thought about it for a moment, then decided that if nobody had survived the killing curse before, then why shouldn't it give you special powers?

Then another question came to Harry's mind, and he voiced it without hesitation.

"At the Quidditch match..." he started, and Merlin looked up again. "Where did you feel the dark magic coming from?"

Hermione and Ron chose this moment to break of their conversation and listen in on Harry, but Merlin didn't seem to care. He looked right into Harry's eyes, and said with absolute certainty:

"Quirrell."

…

Merlin wasn't really sure why he didn't tell Harry earlier about Quirrell, but he was glad that Harry believed him when he did. The trio started dedicating all their time to studying instead of following Quirrell around, and Quirrell almost seemed less nervous because of it.

Exams came up quickly, and while Draco obviously found that the studying had payed off, Merlin figured that it was the biggest waste of time in his life. The only thing he had to do for transfiguration was turn a mouse into a snuffbox, and his magic made sure that it was the most ornate snuffbox possible and, of course, decorated it in Camelot's colors and with its crest. McGonagall thought it was a good laugh, and gave him high points as Merlin felt a wave of nostalgia take him over.

Draco stared at the crest until Merlin changed the poor mouse back into its original form.

Merlin did manage to get less than perfect marks on his potions final, though. It seems that even time can't help with Merlin's clumsiness, and he ended up knocking Draco over when he was carrying the ingredients for the potion. Professor Snape was surprisingly vicious about it all, as apparently Merlin wasn't as good as the legend portrays, and Merlin guessed that the only reason he didn't get kicked out of class and a failing grade was that he was a Slytherin.

Other than that, Merlin got good marks, and the only downside was that Merlin sensed dark magic the entire week. He figured that Voldemort was going to make his move soon.

Judging by how Harry was rubbing his scar by the lake, Merlin guessed that he felt it too. What was a surprise, though, was that Draco was acting on edge as well. Merlin asked him the question that was bothering him as they futilely tried to escape Crabbe and Goyle, who were currently trailing them like lost, overweight puppies as they walked on the lake shore.

"You can sense it, too?" asked Merlin, and Draco looked at him like he was crazy.

"Sense what?" Draco said, and Merlin frowned as the reason for Draco's skittish behavior dawned upon him. He was acting like he was back in Camelot, and a monster could jump out from around the corner at any time.

"Well," Merlin started after he reached the conclusion that of course Draco could sense some magic, "There's been an influx of dark magic all week, along with a bit of animalistic magic, and a tiny bit of the Old Religion, with that blasted stone and mirror. You're acting antsy, so the logical conclusion is that you can sense it."

Draco stared at him as he struggled to understand his words, and, to Merlin's great surprise, Crabbe was the one who spoke.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

Merlin just stared at the boy, as he was completely unaware that he could actually speak beyond grunts and was not a mute or had a disease that rendered him speechless and stupid. He recovered relatively quickly, though, and said, "This is why you aren't part of our_ group_, Crabbe," while glaring.

By then, Draco had worked out the meaning of Merlin's spouted gibberish, and was about to open his mouth to reply when Merlin suddenly grabbed his arm, sending a fierce glare at their two followers that could have scared a dragon and causing them to shuffle away before he explained the reason for his sudden action.

Once they were gone, he pointed, and didn't need to explain as it was quite clear what his intention was in pointing at a running Ron, Hermione, and Harry. They quickly dashed after them and managed to catch up to them as they were talking to Professor McGonagall.

"...don't know how you found out about the stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected," McGonagall was telling the three, looking a bit shocked, but firm.

"But Professor-"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about."

The three looked at the professor, not wavering in their resolve, and Merlin made a split-second decision.

"They're right, you know," he said to the teacher, realizing mid-sentence that this wasn't a very good idea, bringing attention to himself, but knowing that there was no way out now and straightening his back. McGonagall looked at him in surprise, apparently not having noticed him until he spoke.

"Mister Emrys!" she exclaimed, straightening her back and looking a bit furious. "What would you know about such matters!"

Ron apparently decided that it was a perfectly good idea to inform Professor McGonagall that Merlin had been the one who had figured out who Nicolas Flamel was in the first place and opened his mouth, letting out a, "He was-" before Merlin interrupted him.

"I can sense dark magic," said Merlin, surprising Professor McGonagall "And somebody's preparing for something."

McGonagall stared at him, letting out a shocked but not disbelieving, "But how do you know-"

"Considering the recent events at Hogwarts, don't you think something's going on?" Merlin interrupted, not really caring that he was talking to a teacher. "Dark magic is gathering now, and that means that something bad is coming."

There was a silence in which the four just stared at Merlin, then Harry spoke.

"It's tonight," he said, directing everybody's attention to him. "The thief'll go through the trap door tonight. He's got everything he needs, and he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

Professor McGonagall stared at him for a moment, and when she spoke, it was with a careful voice.

"I will not have first years going after this thief. The enchantments will hold. Go back outside, and if I see you anywhere near the third floor corridor, I will take fifty points from your houses. Do you hear me?"

Hermione, Ron, and Harry muttered assent, but Merlin and Draco stayed silent. McGonagall turned to them.

"Do you hear me?" she repeated, and Draco spoke up.

"You'll do something about the thief?"

McGonagall had fury in her eyes. "You-"

"Rest assured, I will stop any thief that tries to take the Stone," said Snape, who had apparently been watching the whole procedure unnoticed until then.

Merlin and Draco looked at him coolly, then the latter nodded.

"Good," said Merlin.

Snape looked at him for a moment, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Now, it's a nice day out- you should be enjoying it," he said, and the group left.

Once they were outside, Draco turned to Merlin.

"You're still planning on checking it out, aren't you?" he asked, and Merlin nodded.

"Good," said Harry, overhearing them, "Because I'm pretty sure Snape can't stand up to Voldemort."


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Okay, I'm sorry this is so late. Should I be hiding from you?**

**Anyway, this isn't going to be the second-to-last chapter in book one, rather the third-to-last, but it is pretty long, so don't grab the pitchforks yet.**

**I'll get the next one up as soon as possible. Don't know when that will be, so please don't ask me.**

**Also, I'm not very good at writing dramatic scenes. Just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin _****or ****_Harry Potter._**

Merlin was distracted, and this was not because it was dinner and he had a right to be distracted by the food that the Slytherin table was displaying. No, he was distracted because Snape was at the head table, eating, when he should have been guarding the third floor corridor.

Of course, Snape did have a right to eat, but he could have summoned a house elf to bring him food instead of neglecting his duties.

Merlin figured that there was no harm done, though, as Quirrell was currently eating at the table as well. Merlin had absolutely no idea why the Defense professor had decided to reject this good an opportunity to get to the Stone, but he did realize that this was a good opportunity to get to the Stone, and that the Stone could use more protection than Professor Snape if Quirrell really did have Voldemort inside of him.

It was this thought that led to Merlin grabbing Draco's arm and whispering quickly to him.

"What, _now_?" whispered Draco indignantly, and Merlin used his grip on his arm to pinch him and cause him to yelp.

"Yes, now. Do you think there's a better time?"

Draco said nothing, noticing that both Quirrell and Snape were at the head table, and the two silently snuck away from the Slytherin table, Merlin feigning sickness as well as he could.

Unfortunately, their escape did not go unnoticed, and as soon as they began to head to the third floor, the doors of the Great Hall burst open and Professor McGonagall marched towards them.

"And just what," she hissed, practically fuming, "do you think you are doing? I've already had to scold the Gryffindors- do I have to deal with you as well?"

"I believe that is my job, Professor," said Snape, coming out from the still-open doors of the Great Hall and most likely making a huge scene that the entire school would be talking about after. Merlin closed his mouth, which he had opened to deliver a story about a sudden illness and partly knowing that it wouldn't work.

Snape stared defiantly at McGonagall.

McGonagall stared back at Snape, then glared at Merlin and Draco, then gave a stiff nod to Snape.

"I trust you will find suitable punishment for them," she stated, and walked back into a silent Great Hall, which promptly broke out into chatter as Snape gestured for Merlin to follow him elsewhere. Draco hurried to follow the two, but Snape stopped him.

"Only Marlin, Draco. No-" he held up a hand as Draco opened his mouth to protest. "-you will go back to the Common Room. Your father would not approve of you getting... _involved_ in these things."

Draco glared at Snape. Snape glared right back.

Then Merlin gave Draco a goofy grin as he caught on to the hidden meaning behind Snape's words.

"It's okay," he said, eyes urging Draco to listen. "Go back to the Common Room."

Draco just looked at Merlin for a moment, then gave a hesitant nod.

"Okay," he said, "Just... don't-"

"-do anything stupid? I think we're a little past that," said Merlin, and Draco stared at him for a moment before nodding and heading back.

Then Snape turned abruptly and Merlin rushed to follow him, pausing as Snape headed towards the third floor corridor. He grinned as Snape glared at him and ran to catch up.

Snape looked at him as they stood on a moving staircase, then said, "I trust you can disguise yourself so that you are not recognized?"

Merlin nodded, "That's typically what disguises are for."

Snape glared.

"All right, yes. An aging spell or should I just remove the spell I'm currently using?"

"That is up to you," said Snape, and Merlin nodded.

Snape looked at him again when he didn't do anything.

"The spell?"

"You don't want the paintings gossiping, do you?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Most of the portraits looked indignant at this. Snape just scowled.

They walked in silence until they arrived at the third floor corridor, Merlin turning to Snape.

"So, I just go in, neutralize all the traps, and wait at the end, then?" Snape nodded. "Sounds fun. Mind telling me what the traps are?"

Snape sneered.

"That would be wasting time. I'm sure a wizard of your caliber can deal with them."

Merlin grinned, opened the door, then quickly shut it as he thought of something.

"How do I _neutralize_ the dog?" he asked, admittedly a bit shrilly, but he blamed the age spell for that.

Snape stared at him as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Merlin frowned, hoping a quick _astrice_ would do the job.

"Right, I'll just knock it out, then."

He took a deep breath, removed the age spell, and opened the door.

…

"What are you doing here?" was what Harry exclaimed when he saw Malfoy, which was admittedly a bit dumb while wearing an invisibility cloak, but at least Harry remembered to pull it down when Draco whirled around to see nothing. The pureblood's eyes widened as he saw the trio appear from nowhere, then narrowed as he realized that it was the trio.

"I should be asking you that question! Didn't McGonagall tell you not to come here?"

"Didn't Snape tell you?" Harry shot back, a little indignant. "Where's Marlin, anyway? Aren't you two usually together?"

Malfoy winced. "It doesn't matter," he said, and for a moment Harry thought that Marlin had tried to stop Draco, then realized that that was a bit out of character for the boy.

Then it hit him. "Marlin went into the third floor corridor already, didn't he?"

Draco looked alarmed at this. "No- no, he's in his dorm. He tried to stop me from-"

"Yeah, right," Ron interrupted, "And that's why he walked off with Snape at dinner."

Draco looked even more alarmed, and Harry's suspicions were affirmed.

"Go home, Malfoy," said Harry, pulling the invisibility cloak around the three again, and Malfoy's eyes widened as he saw them disappear once again. Then Draco was struck by sudden inspiration.

"Snape's threatening me with my father, and Marlin told me to stay behind," Malfoy explained, and Harry stopped in his tracks.

"That's why I'm here alone."

Harry turned to look at him, Hermione and Ron copying his movements. He thought it over, thinking of his life at the Dursleys'. Draco couldn't have parents like them, could he?

Harry lifted up the cloak.

"Come on, then."

Malfoy stared for a moment, then smiled and hurried over, getting under the invisibility cloak and walking silently with the others. Something poked Harry as he climbed under, and he looked down to see a sword strapped at Malfoy's hip. Ron and Hermione gaped along with him.

"Is that-"

"Nicked it from one of the suits of armor," explained Malfoy with a small, smug grin. "Much easier to use than a wand in close combat."

The three stared at the pureblood until he crossed his arms in indignation.

"What?"

"Do you even know how to use it?" asked Hermione, shock filling her voice. Malfoy scoffed.

"Don't be stupid. Would I have grabbed it otherwise?"

Hermione looked a bit offended but conceded the point, and Ron kept on staring at Malfoy with wide eyes until Harry rolled his own and said, "Come on."

The three started walking again, and Hermione seemed to have a thought.

"Isn't fencing a Muggle sport?" she asked.

"Yeah, so?"

...

Aside from a small run-in with Peeves, they made the trip with no interruptions, and eventually stood in front of the open door of the third floor corridor. Snape lay unconscious in front of it, and the sight of the teacher sent a chill down all their spines.

"Well, there you are," said Harry, "Quirrell's already got past Snape and Fluffy."

Harry then pulled the cloak off and offered it to Ron and Hermione, knowing that Malfoy wouldn't bother going back.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid."

"We're coming."

The four entered through the door, Malfoy attempting to push forward and stand in front of them. Harry persistently refused to move from where he was at the front, though, so the two stood before Ron and Hermione as the three-headed dog sniffed at them.

"What's that at its feet?" asked Hermione.

"Looks like a harp," Ron said, "Quirrell must've left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry said, then pulled out his flute.

"Well, here goes..."

Harry started playing the flute, if it could be called that, as he hadn't really had any practice on it and didn't know how to play. But, the hound began to doze, and eventually fell into a sleep.

"Keep playing," Ron urged as they crawled to the trap door. Malfoy's hand hovered over his sword hilt in case the beast woke up- a futile gesture for a creature of that size, Harry thought.

They eventually made it to the door, and Ron said, "I think we'll be able to pull the door open. Want to go first, Malfoy?"

Malfoy frowned, then removed his hand from his sword. He shrugged.

"Alright," he said, then stepped over the beast's legs, leaving a gaping Ron behind.

After a moment, Ron spluttered. "I was just joking!"

But Draco had already thrown open the trapdoor, and was peering down into it.

"I can't see anything," he said, "It's too dark- it might be a long way down."

Malfoy took a deep breath, preparing to jump, but saw Harry gesture to himself just in time.

"You want to go first?" he asked, and Harry nodded as well as he could while playing the flute. Draco seemed to think it over, and Harry thought it odd how willing he was to go into danger. The pureblood turned back to Harry.

"You're sure?" Harry nodded again, "Alright, hand the flute to Hermione. We don't want the thing to wake."

Harry handed the flute to Hermione, and when the beast grumbled at the sudden silence Malfoy's hand flew to his sword again. He relaxed when Hermione started playing.

Harry clambered over the dog's legs, and looked down into the darkness. He couldn't see the bottom. He lowered himself into the hole, a small part of him hoping that Malfoy didn't suddenly turn bad again and stomp on his fingers. He looked at Draco, then spoke to Ron.

"If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," Ron responded.

"See you in a minute, I hope..."

Harry let go, and was taken by the sensation of falling. He landed with a muffled sound on a soft surface. He sat up, feeling around and noticing that he was on some sort of plant. He took a breath and called back up to the others.

…

"It's okay," Harry's voice came from the hole, and Draco almost breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron clambered over the dog's legs and jumped down the trapdoor before Draco could follow. The former king rolled his eyes and followed right away.

"What's this stuff?" was the first thing he heard when he fell, then, "Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!" and then he suddenly felt the impact of the ground and scrambled upwards, pulling out his sword as the plant started to writhe and twirl around his ankles. He went to the far wall, slashing at the plant as he went, and Hermione landed with a thump right after he reached the wall.

"We must be miles under the school."

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron, and Draco could almost feel the roll of his eyes. "Don't know what Malfoy's on about."

"Lucky!" Hermione shrieked, "I think he's smarter than you- look at you both!"

She struggled to the wall where Draco was and leaned against it. Ron and Harry started squirming and attempting to extract themselves from the plant.

"Stop moving!" said Hermione, "I know what this is- it's Devil's Snare!"

Draco frowned as he tried to figure out what that was, and Ron exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help."

Draco would've rolled his eyes if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!"

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!"

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? - It likes the dark and damp-"

"So light a fire!"

"Yes- of course- but there's no wood!"

Draco just rolled his eyes as Ron bellowed the obvious answer and pulled out his wand, trying to think of a fire spell. He remembered a spell that Merlin had used several times, and said, "Forbaernan," quickly.

Strong flames burst out of his wand, nearly singing Harry and Ron as they scrambled out of the Devil's Snare. Hermione stared at him, and Draco stared at his wand, wondering how that had worked.

"Bloody-" Ron started, but Hermione interrupted him.

"Where'd you learn a spell like that?" she asked Draco, looking at the now-destroyed Devil's Snare.

Draco still stared at his wand, wondering how old magic had worked.

"Marlin," he answered honestly, and Hermione stared, but nodded.

After a moment, Harry took charge by saying, "This way."

Draco put his wand in his pocket, and headed forward down the passageway.

…

Merlin had to say, Voldemort wasn't very good at choosing hosts. Of course, there wasn't much selection in Albania, but he could have chosen better than Quirrell.

Then again, Voldemort did expect to be dealing with a first year, didn't he?

Merlin sighed, rolling his shoulders. Even with the troll, his battle skills were rusty, and he hadn't had to deal with a powerful wizard like Voldemort for a long time. Practicing basic magic for a whole year didn't help much, either, and Merlin made a goal to abuse the room of requirement for training the next year.

He turned to Quirrell's fallen body, kneeling down next to it and checking for a pulse, though he was pretty sure he wouldn't find one with the spell he had cast.

He sighed in relief as he felt nothing. As corrupted as Quirrell had become, he didn't need to experience Azkaban.

He stood up, deciding that Dumbledore did deserve to know, even if that did mean he would have to face the headmaster's twinkling eye again.

He turned towards the door and away from Quirrell's body, just missing the shadow that rose from Quirrell and turned in his direction.

...

They walked forward in silence until Ron said, "Can you hear something?"

Draco listened and heard some kind of clinking.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead- I can see something moving."

Suddenly the passageway ended and they emerged into a bright chamber with small birds swarming around above them. There was a door across the chamber.

"What are those?" asked Draco, as he had never really seen any birds like them in both of his lives.

Ron just stared at him as if he was stupid, then turned to Harry.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" asked he.

"Probably. They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice..." Harry said, preparing himself, "I'll-"

"Wait," Draco called out as he got a closer look at one of the birds. Ron gave the past king an even more withering look. Draco ignored him and proceeded to explain the reason for his explanation.

"They're not birds," said Draco. "They're keys."

The group stared at the "birds," then at Draco.

"That means that the door's probably locked," Draco explained further.

Hermione's face fell as she realized what that implied. "So if they chase us to the door..."

"Wait," said Harry as he spotted something. "There are broomsticks at the other end of the chamber. That means that they're probably not enchanted to..."

Harry's theory was proved wrong, as at that moment, all three of them spotted blood on the chamber's floor.

"...Well," said Draco, "Maybe not originally."

He was beginning to recognize that antsy feeling that he got around the magic of the Old Religion.

The three just stared at him, as they couldn't possibly know what he meant by that. Draco realized what a bad idea it was to speak up and draw attention to himself as soon as he spotted a key flying below all the rest, with badly damaged wings as though it had been grabbed hastily from the air.

"There!" Draco called out, pointing at it, and the three changed the directions of their stares. He turned to them.

"We'll run across all at once, and I'll grab it, okay?"

Harry nodded, while Ron gave Draco yet another look.

"You sure you can get it?"

Draco glared at him. Ron put his hands up in surrender, and the four prepared to run.

"Ready?" a nod from each head. "Go!"

They ran across the room and the keys suddenly all swerved down towards them, closing in on them as they ran towards the door. Draco grabbed the key from the air with a victorious cry- too early, as suddenly the keys surrounded them, blocking their path as they circled them in a whirlwind of metal. Draco drew his sword, slashing at the keys blocking the path to the door, to no avail.

Suddenly, the keys started breaking off from the circle, scratching into the students robes.

The children huddled together with whimpers and cries as the keys suddenly became more accurate in their aim, watching in horror as all the keys suddenly turned towards them.

Then there was a snapping sound, and all the keys dropped to the ground.

…

Somewhere in the struggle, Merlin felt one of his spells break.

_Should've known that prat would come after me._

…

Draco opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them. Around them was a great circle of winged keys, all unenchanted.

Draco briefly recalled Merlin telling him that his magic was only for him, and understood. He picked up the key that he had dropped- wings completely broken now- and looked at the others.

"Everyone alright?" he asked, and they all nodded, though they were all bleeding in various spots.

"Just grazes," Hermione said shakily, then seemed to see what was around her. "What happened?"

"No idea," said Draco and Ron at the same time, then looked disgusted with themselves.

There was a silence where Draco and Ron stared at eachother, then Harry spoke.

"Well," he said, "we've got more important things to worry about. C'mon." He took the key from Draco and headed towards the door, Draco sending a glare at Ron before following him.

They unlocked the door and pushed it open, standing and gaping at the sight in front of them.

There was a giant chessboard with black and faceless white pieces. The black pieces were closest to them, and towered over them. Everybody shivered, and Draco was reminded of the knights of Medhir, though these seemed to be much more frightening as he was much shorter than he was then. He grasped his sword handle.

"Now what do we do?" asked Harry quietly.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We've got to play our way across the room."

Draco suddenly noticed the door behind the white pieces.

"How?" asked Hermione.

"I think we're going to have to be chessmen."

Ron walked up to a knight and touched its horse, the piece springing to life and turning to look at the boy.

"Do we- er- have to join you to get across?"

The knight nodded. Ron turned to the others.

"This needs thinking about... I suppose we've got to take the place of three of the black pieces." He thought for a moment, then said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess-"

"We're not-"

"Excuse me?"

"-offended..." Harry trailed off, glaring at Draco.

Draco crossed his arms. "And how would you know if I was good at chess or not?" he asked indignantly, definitely offended that anybody would dare say anything like that to him.

Ron glared at him. "Well, we don't exactly have time to test!"

"I'm probably better than _you_ at chess, Weasley!"

Draco had a moment to regret his comment before Ron was fuming.

"Oh, sure, bring the family name into it, why don't-"

"Stop!" exclaimed Hermione, hair frazzled in her frustration. Draco and Ron whirled around to face her. "Why don't you just work together! I'm sure you can stop Malfoy from making any stupid decisions, Ron!"

Draco glared at her.

"It's better for everyone," Hermione pleaded Ron, ignoring Draco's look.

Ron stared at Hermione, then glared at Draco, then looked at Hermione again and sighed as he realized that she wouldn't bend.

"Alright," said Ron, and Draco stared at him, "But I don't like this." He thought for a moment, "Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle. Malfoy, since you're so high and mighty, you can be the king."

Draco somehow managed to appreciate the irony while fuming.

"What about you?" asked Hermione.

"I'm going to be a knight."

A knight, a bishop, a castle, and the king walked off the board. The group took their places.

"White always plays first in chess."

"Obviously."

"Yes... look..."

A white pawn moved forward.

Ron started to move the black pieces, Draco snapping at him whenever he almost made a stupid decision, and they ended up getting checkmate without losing very many pieces. Nobody got hurt, and, eventually, the white king threw his crown to the ground and the chessmen left the board clear.

They hurried through the next passageway, and pushed open the door.

They immediately cringed as the smell reached their noses, and heard a grunting from within the chamber. They peered around the door and saw a great troll with a lump on its head, miraculously awake and unfazed. Draco figured that this was Merlin's doing, but it might just be the thickness of the troll's skull.

Draco grabbed the hilt of his sword, thankful that he had grabbed it.

Hermione was the first to speak. "I know a few offensive spells. Do you-"

"We could levitate its club and drop it on its head," Draco suggested, thinking that there weren't any other spells they could use to take out a troll.

Ron looked at him like he was crazy.

"What kind of an idea is that?"

Draco shrugged, "Marlin's."

Ron huffed, "That explains it."

Hermione then seemed to have an idea. "Can you use your sword?"

Draco looked at her, his ego shining through as he said, "Of course."

"Well, then, prove it," said Ron.

Draco grinned and dashed through the door, the troll turning around inquisitively as it heard the noise only to be slashed across the back. It did little good, and Draco stopped and stared as he saw how little the sword had hurt the troll, barely breaking through it's stone-like skin.

The troll let out a bellow, slightly over exaggerated, as Draco had barely cut the beast, before retaliating with its club. Draco yelped and quickly jumped back, (later cursing himself for making such a juvenile noise in a fight,) and rolled to the side, attempting to get the troll's stomach. He succeeded in his endeavors, but it barely damaged the troll.

The troll lifted its club, preparing to strike.

"Oh, sod it. _Wingardium Leviosa!_"

Draco's spell hit the troll's club, and up it floated, before landing with a crack onto the creature's head. The troll fell to the ground with a thud, another large lump forming on its head, and Draco allowed himself a small smile.

"Apparently Marlin's not as crazy as he seems," he said.

Ron just stared at him as though he couldn't believe such a stupid idea had worked.

"I think you're both barmy."

The troll chose this moment to groan, and the group exchanged a panicked look before running to the opposite door and pulling it open. In front of them was a table with seven bottles on it.

"Snape's," Harry provided, and the group stiffened at the reminder of the professor laying outside of the third floor corridor.

"What do we have to do?"

…

Merlin didn't know this about himself until now, but he was apparently insecure. All those worries over his thousand years had made him an emotional wreck that would probably have trouble throwing off an Imperius curse. Being possessed was probably a bad idea.

But he_ couldn't_ lose. From what he had heard, he figured that Voldemort was after immortality.

Merlin was immortal. He couldn't let Voldemort get control of him.

He fought against the Dark Lord, getting weaker all the time.

...

They stepped into the room, and nothing happened. Hermione walked up to the potion table and read off a poem, but it didn't make any sense- the way was clear.

"Snape passed out. It must've broken the spell," Draco said.

There was a silence, then Harry spoke.

"You three should go," he said.

Said three stared.

"Are you crazy?"

"You think we're going after all that?"

"No way."

Ron stared, Hermione frowned, and Draco crossed his arms indignantly.

Harry frowned.

"You know Voldemort might be in there, right?" he said, "I don't want any of you getting hurt because of me."

"You're not facing him alone," Hermione persisted.

"We're your friends," said Ron. Then he looked at Draco.

"Well, at least two of us."

Draco didn't argue this time.

"You may have gotten lucky once," he said instead, "but that doesn't mean you'll get lucky again. You need help."

Harry stared at Draco, then at his friends, seeing their determination. He nodded reluctantly.

"Alright," he said, then walked towards the door. "Let's go, then."


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: Okay, I may have regrets about posting this, as I fail at dramatic final battles. Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter- would you believe me if I said that I didn't even notice it was a cliffhanger? No? I thought not.**

**Just a warning- this ends on a cliffie too. I need time to think about the next chapter.**

**And it's really short. Please don't kill me.**

**Should be soon, though. Don't worry. **

**Anyway, I'm sure none of you are reading this, so I'll stop.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin_**** or ****_Harry Potter._**

The group walked down the corridor, Draco staying behind Harry, as he had made it clear that he was going to lead them. Of course, the past king thought that he could be of more use up front, but he couldn't exactly form an argument as to why without saying that he was a past king.

They eventually emerged into the final chamber, and startled when they heard a moan.

Merlin was kneeling on the ground in front of a pale Professor Quirrell, clutching his head and looking straight at Draco with burning gold eyes.

"A-Arthur..." he grunted out, _"Go!_"

The gold burned brighter than ever, and Merlin let out a scream and collapsed.

When he looked up again, the gold of his magic had been extinguished.

…

Harry knew, when Marcellus lifted his head, that Voldemort was the one looking at him through his eyes.

The Dark Lord stood up and laughed, voice the same as the man that he had possessed.

"Ah... He is powerful, but he is weak, and I have proven myself the better man."

Then Voldemort's eyes snapped to Harry.

"Harry Potter..." he said, "And his friends... So young, but they have come so far..."

His eyes scanned the group, then landed on Malfoy.

"And Lucius' child! The young Malfoy! Here to follow in your father's footsteps, I see."

Draco's hand wandered to his sword, and his face hardened in an expression that Harry had never seen on a child before.

Voldemort recoiled, and his eyes flashed gold for a moment, before he chuckled.

"He is older than he seems..." Voldemort said thoughtfully, then turned to the mirror. "No matter! This body fights me again. I will have what I came for."

He stared into the mirror. "The Stone resides within the mirror- I see myself using it- but how do I get it?"

Hermione had pulled out her wand. Ron, Draco and Harry followed suit, and all pointed their wands at Voldemort. Hermione opened her mouth to say an incantation.

The Dark Lord whirled around and waved his hand, ropes materializing out of thin air and wrapping around them.

"Foolish children! Do you think that you can face me?" The ropes wound tighter, and Voldemort's eyes glowed gold once again. Voldemort cringed and the ropes loosened.

"He has so much power, but I cannot reach it..." muttered the Dark Lord. He turned back to the mirror and stared into it for a moment longer, then was suddenly struck with inspiration.

"Boy, come here," said Voldemort, waving his hand so the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got up slowly.

"Come look in the mirror and tell me what you see," said Voldemort. Harry walked towards the mirror.

I must lie. I must look and lie about what I see, that's all.

Harry saw his reflection wink at him, pull out a stone, and place it in its- and the real Harry's- pocket.

"Well?" Voldemort asked impatiently.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore. I- I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Somehow Harry could tell that this wouldn't work.

"Lies!" exclaimed Voldemort, "It is in your pocket! Don't be a fool, Harry, or you'll die like your parents- begging for mercy."

"LIAR!" exclaimed Harry.

Voldemort sneered. "How touching- I always value bravery. Yes, your parents were brave. I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight, but your mother needn't have died. She was trying to protect you. Now, give me the stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" shouted Harry, and, had he been alone, he might've run, but, being with his friends, lunged forward at Voldemort and pushed him back, hoping to startle him enough for him to drop the enchantment on the ropes. This had a strange side effect, as the body he touched burned on contact with his hands, Harry's scar burning at the contact.

Voldemort screeched and his eyes burned gold as the ropes on Ron, Draco, and Hermione disintegrated.

…

Draco stood up quickly as the ropes vanished and drew his sword, preparing to run at Voldemort before he remembered that it was Merlin that he would be hurting.

All through this Voldemort screeched, and Draco suddenly had an idea.

"You've gotta fight!" shouted Draco at Merlin, and the gold suddenly burned brighter. Draco took it as a good sign.

"I know you're in there!"

Hermione and Ron yelled encouragement, too, once they saw Draco's plan.

The gold was almost blinding now, but still Voldemort remained.

Merlin was losing energy, and Draco clenched his fists.

_"MERLIN!"_

…

Harry only allowed himself to lose consciousness when he saw the shadow pass, and _Merlin_ collapse to the ground.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Merlin _****or ****_Harry Potter._**

When Harry woke up, he was surprised to see that not only was he not playing Quidditch, he was staring into the face of the headmaster, whose glasses were most definitely not a Snitch.

"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore, and Harry suddenly had a vague memory of a head of black hair and frightful golden eyes.

Then it all came back to him, and his eyes widened.

"Sir! It was Voldemort! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick-"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times. Quirrell does not have the stone."

"Then that man does! Sir, I-"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

Harry shut his mouth and examined his surroundings, which looked suspiciously like the hospital wing, as he was in a white bed and there were medicine cabinets all around. Next to him was a cart of candy.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers. What happened down in the dungeons between you and... Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows."

"But, sir, it wasn't-"

Dumbledore interrupted him with a finger to his lips and a hissed, "Ssshh!"

"That is something that must be kept secret."

Harry stared at him, opened mouthed.

"Why?" he asked, not understanding how Dumbledore could lie about something like this.

Dumbledore chuckled. "A friend of mine would prefer to stay out of the limelight,"

Harry stared.

"You mean..."

"Yes, I do. He and I do not go back very far at all, but we have hit it off quite well. He is an excellent wizard. In fact, I have had to silence Hermione about just how excellent."

Harry stared some more.

"So he really _is_ Merlin?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "He would appreciate if you kept that secret, but yes."

Harry gaped.

Dumbledore continued, "As for the stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? But your friend- Nicolas Flamel-"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas? You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry's astonishment.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it's like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

Dumbledore was about to continue, but was interrupted, for at that moment, a voice said, "You're awake."

Harry turned to see Marlin in the bed next to him, looking like he had a very bad headache.

Harry looked at Dumbledore, whose eyes twinkled as he smiled, as though he found something especially humorous.

"Well, I will be taking my leave," he stood up, "You two should catch up. Goodbye, Harry, Marlin."

He left the hospital wing, and Harry turned back to Marlin.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked, staring at him.

"A dog," Marlin shrugged, grinning.

Then Draco, Ron, and Hermione showed up, and further conversation was delayed.

…

Gryffindor won the house cup that year. Merlin wasn't surprised.

Of course, though this meant the Slytherins weren't happy, Merlin thought it was for the best. He had had a little chat with Dumbledore, and they had both decided it would be better if it wasn't known that Draco had been a part of the stopping of Lord Voldemort.

Surprisingly, Draco agreed with this as well.

_"If my father found out..."_ he had said, and Merlin had agreed.

_"We wouldn't want that."_

Merlin's musings were interrupted as a voice said, "Merlin?"

Merlin turned to face Draco, involuntarily wincing as the movement pulled on his burns.

"You're still hurting?" asked Draco as he saw the pain on Merlin's face.

"Yeah," said Merlin.

Madam Pomfrey hadn't really had a chance to treat it, and his magic was still recovering from the strain of fighting Voldemort.

He was on the train to London, though, so Saint Mungo's was just an apparation away.

Still, Merlin thought as he winced again, that doesn't stop it from hurting now.

Draco punched Merlin in the arm.

"Ow!" exclaimed Merlin, "What was that for?" Then he thought for a moment, "Was that to comfort me?"

"It worked with the knights!" Draco said indignantly.

"Well, not with injured people!"

Draco grimaced and opened his mouth to apologize when the compartment door opened to reveal Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Hi," said Harry.

"May we join you?" asked Hermione.

Merlin blinked. "Of course."

The three sat down, making the compartment a bit cramped, but nobody seemed to mind.

There was a silence in which nobody knew what to say, then Draco spoke up.

"So," he said, "Quidditch."

…

By the end of the train ride, Ron and Draco had had an argument about Quidditch, Hermione and Harry had discussed various Muggle movies, Draco and Hermione had a conversation about the Arthurian Legends which bored most everybody except Merlin, who was continually pointing out flaws in both of their versions, and they had all had a conversation about Merlin.

"How do you think he became possessed?" asked Hermione eventually, once the conversation had waned again.

"Maybe he's insecure," said Merlin, then realized that it was a bad idea to speak up in a conversation about yourself when the others do not know the conversation is about you.

Draco turned to look at him, surprised. "And why would he be insecure?" he asked.

Merlin thought that it was pretty weird that they were finally having this conversation in the third person.

"Well, he's been alive a long time," said Merlin, looking at Draco, "Maybe he feels he isn't needed anymore."

There was a silence in which the group pondered over that.

"Well," said Hermione, "I think we should be glad of any help we receive."

"Even if it makes things harder in the process," grumbled Ron.

Hermione whacked his arm.

Harry then spoke up, "Well, I think that if Voldemort's still out there, then we can use all the help we can get."

"Yeah," said Hermione.

Draco gave Merlin a meaningful look.

Merlin smiled slightly, but was saved from having to answer by the train reaching the station.

They got off the train, Draco and Merlin separating from the others and saying their goodbyes. Merlin started walking again, but Draco grabbed his arm.

"If you don't contact me this summer..." Draco said.

Merlin chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. I'll save you from Crabbe and Goyle."

Draco stared at him, then released his arm with a nod.

"Okay, then," he said, then spotted his father walking towards him.

"See you, Merlin."

"See you," Merlin said, then went to summon the Knight Bus. He had a hospital to go to.

**Author's note: God, that ending was bad, but I couldn't think of anything else.**

**Anyway, the reason for this early posting was I realized how short the last chapter was and didn't want to torture you. Be thankful.**

**I'm going back to school soon, so it's gonna be a while before book two, as I'll have to get back into life and out of la la land. Don't nag me, please.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


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